Systematic assessment of secondary bile acid metabolism in gut microbes reveals distinct metabolic capabilities in inflammatory bowel disease

in Microbiome (2019)

Background The human gut microbiome performs important functions in human health and disease. A classic example for host-gut microbial co-metabolism is host biosynthesis of primary bile acids and their ... [more ▼]

Background The human gut microbiome performs important functions in human health and disease. A classic example for host-gut microbial co-metabolism is host biosynthesis of primary bile acids and their subsequent deconjugation and transformation by the gut microbiome. To understand these system-level host-microbe interactions, a mechanistic, multi-scale computational systems biology approach that integrates the different types of omic data is needed. Here, we use a systematic workflow to computationally model bile acid metabolism in gut microbes and microbial communities. Results Therefore, we first performed a comparative genomic analysis of bile acid deconjugation and biotransformation pathways in 693 human gut microbial genomes and expanded 232 curated genome-scale microbial metabolic reconstructions with the corresponding reactions (available at https://vmh.life). We then predicted the bile acid biotransformation potential of each microbe and in combination with other microbes. We found that each microbe could produce maximally six of the 13 secondary bile acids in silico, while microbial pairs could produce up to 12 bile acids, suggesting bile acid biotransformation being a microbial community task. To investigate the metabolic potential of a given microbiome, publicly available metagenomics data from healthy Western individuals, as well as inflammatory bowel disease patients and healthy controls, were mapped onto the genomes of the reconstructed strains. We constructed for each individual a large-scale personalized microbial community model that takes into account strain-level abundances. Using flux balance analysis, we found considerable variation in the potential to deconjugate and transform primary bile acids between the gut microbiomes of healthy individuals. Moreover, the microbiomes of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease patients were significantly depleted in their bile acid production potential compared with that of controls. The contributions of each strain to overall bile acid production potential across individuals were found to be distinct between inflammatory bowel disease patients and controls. Finally, bottlenecks limiting secondary bile acid production potential were identified in each microbiome model. Conclusions This large-scale modeling approach provides a novel way of analyzing metagenomics data to accelerate our understanding of the metabolic interactions between the host and gut microbiomes in health and diseases states. Our models and tools are freely available to the scientific community. [less ▲]

Recon3D enables a three-dimensional view of gene variation in human metabolism.

in Nature biotechnology (2018), 36(3), 272-281

Genome-scale network reconstructions have helped uncover the molecular basis of metabolism. Here we present Recon3D, a computational resource that includes three-dimensional (3D) metabolite and protein ... [more ▼]

Genome-scale network reconstructions have helped uncover the molecular basis of metabolism. Here we present Recon3D, a computational resource that includes three-dimensional (3D) metabolite and protein structure data and enables integrated analyses of metabolic functions in humans. We use Recon3D to functionally characterize mutations associated with disease, and identify metabolic response signatures that are caused by exposure to certain drugs. Recon3D represents the most comprehensive human metabolic network model to date, accounting for 3,288 open reading frames (representing 17% of functionally annotated human genes), 13,543 metabolic reactions involving 4,140 unique metabolites, and 12,890 protein structures. These data provide a unique resource for investigating molecular mechanisms of human metabolism. Recon3D is available at http://vmh.life. [less ▲]

Quantitative systems pharmacology and the personalized drug–microbiota–diet axis

in Current Opinion in Systems Biology (2017), 4

Precision medicine is an emerging paradigm that aims at maximizing the benefits and minimizing the adverse effects of drugs. Realistic mechanistic models are needed to understand and limit heterogeneity ... [more ▼]

Precision medicine is an emerging paradigm that aims at maximizing the benefits and minimizing the adverse effects of drugs. Realistic mechanistic models are needed to understand and limit heterogeneity in drug responses. While pharmacokinetic models describe in detail a drug's absorption and metabolism, they generally do not account for individual variations in response to environmental influences, in addition to genetic variation. For instance, the human gut microbiota metabolizes drugs and is modulated by diet, and it exhibits significant variation among individuals. However, the influence of the gut microbiota on drug failure or drug side effects is under-researched. Here, we review recent advances in computational modeling approaches that could contribute to a better, mechanism-based understanding of drug–microbiota–diet interactions and their contribution to individual drug responses. By integrating systems biology and quantitative systems pharmacology with microbiology and nutrition, the conceptually and technologically demand for novel approaches could be met to enable the study of individual variability, thereby providing breakthrough support for progress in precision medicine. [less ▲]

Embryonic development of selectively vulnerable neurons in Parkinson’s disease

in NPJ Parkinson's Disease (2017), 3

A specific set of brainstem nuclei are susceptible to degeneration in Parkinson’s disease. We hypothesise that neuronal vulnerability reflects shared phenotypic characteristics that confer selective ... [more ▼]

A specific set of brainstem nuclei are susceptible to degeneration in Parkinson’s disease. We hypothesise that neuronal vulnerability reflects shared phenotypic characteristics that confer selective vulnerability to degeneration. Neuronal phenotypic specification is mainly the cumulative result of a transcriptional regulatory program that is active during the development. By manual curation of the developmental biology literature, we comprehensively reconstructed an anatomically resolved cellular developmental lineage for the adult neurons in five brainstem regions that are selectively vulnerable to degeneration in prodromal or early Parkinson’s disease. We synthesised the literature on transcription factors that are required to be active, or required to be inactive, in the development of each of these five brainstem regions, and at least two differentially vulnerable nuclei within each region. Certain transcription factors, e.g., Ascl1 and Lmx1b, seem to be required for specification of many brainstem regions that are susceptible to degeneration in early Parkinson’s disease. Some transcription factors can even distinguish between differentially vulnerable nuclei within the same brain region, e.g., Pitx3 is required for specification of the substantia nigra pars compacta, but not the ventral tegmental area. We do not suggest that Parkinson’s disease is a developmental disorder. In contrast, we consider identification of shared developmental trajectories as part of a broader effort to identify the molecular mechanisms that underlie the phenotypic features that are shared by selectively vulnerable neurons. Systematic in vivo assessment of fate determining transcription factors should be completed for all neuronal populations vulnerable to degeneration in early Parkinson’s disease. [less ▲]

DistributedFBA.jl: High-level, high-performance flux balance analysis in Julia.

in Bioinformatics (2017)

MOTIVATION: Flux balance analysis, and its variants, are widely used methods for predicting steady-state reaction rates in biochemical reaction networks. The exploration of high dimensional networks with ... [more ▼]

MOTIVATION: Flux balance analysis, and its variants, are widely used methods for predicting steady-state reaction rates in biochemical reaction networks. The exploration of high dimensional networks with such methods is currently hampered by software performance limitations. RESULTS: DistributedFBA.jl is a high-level, high-performance, open-source implementation of flux balance analysis in Julia. It is tailored to solve multiple flux balance analyses on a subset or all the reactions of large and huge-scale networks, on any number of threads or nodes. AVAILABILITY: The code is freely available on github.com/opencobra/COBRA.jl. The documentation can be found at opencobra.github.io/COBRA.jl. [less ▲]

Reliable and efficient solution of genome-scale models of Metabolism and macromolecular Expression

in Scientific Reports (2017)

CHRR: Coordi- nate hit-and-run with rounding for uniform sampling of constraint-based models

in Bioinformatics (2017)

Generation of genome-scale metabolic reconstructions for 773 members of the human gut microbiota

in Nature Biotechnology (2016)

Genome-scale metabolic models derived from human gut metagenomic data can be used as a framework to elucidate how microbial communities modulate human metabolism and health. We present AGORA (assembly of ... [more ▼]

Genome-scale metabolic models derived from human gut metagenomic data can be used as a framework to elucidate how microbial communities modulate human metabolism and health. We present AGORA (assembly of gut organisms through reconstruction and analysis), a resource of genome-scale metabolic reconstructions semi-automatically generated for 773 human gut bacteria. Using this resource, we identified a defined growth medium for Bacteroides caccae ATCC 34185. We also showed that interactions among modeled species depend on both the metabolic potential of each species and the nutrients available. AGORA reconstructions can integrate either metagenomic or 16S rRNA sequencing data sets to infer the metabolic diversity of microbial communities. AGORA reconstructions could provide a starting point for the generation of high-quality, manually curated metabolic reconstructions. AGORA is fully compatible with Recon 2, a comprehensive metabolic reconstruction of human metabolism, which will facilitate studies of host–microbiome interactions. [less ▲]

Identification of Conserved Moieties in Metabolic Networks by Graph Theoretical Analysis of Atom Transition Networks

in PLoS Computational Biology (2016)

Advantages and challenges of microfluidic cell culture in polydimethylsiloxane devices

in Biosensors and Bioelectronics (2015), 63

Culture of cells using various microfluidic devices is becoming more common within experimental cell biology. At the same time, a technological radiation of microfluidic cell culture device designs is ... [more ▼]

Culture of cells using various microfluidic devices is becoming more common within experimental cell biology. At the same time, a technological radiation of microfluidic cell culture device designs is currently in progress. Ultimately, the utility of microfluidic cell culture will be determined by its capacity to permit new insights into cellular function. Especially insights that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to obtain with macroscopic cell culture in traditional polystyrene dishes, flasks or well-plates. Many decades of heuristic optimization have gone into perfecting conventional cell culture devices and protocols. In comparison, even for the most commonly used microfluidic cell culture devices, such as those fabricated from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), collective understanding of the differences in cellular behavior between microfluidic and macroscopic culture is still developing. Moving in vitro culture from macroscopic culture to PDMS based devices can come with unforeseen challenges. Changes in device material, surface coating, cell number per unit surface area or per unit media volume may all affect the outcome of otherwise standard protocols. In this review, we outline some of the advantages and challenges that may accompany a transition from macroscopic to microfluidic cell culture. We focus on decisive factors that distinguish macroscopic from microfluidic cell culture to encourage a reconsideration of how macroscopic cell culture principles might apply to microfluidic cell culture. [less ▲]