Human gut microbiota and endocrinology: paradigm shift from genome to its regulation.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic methodology or primary human data
PubMed 38113381 · doi:10.1530/JOE-23-0348
What was done
This narrative review synthesizes literature on the bidirectional crosstalk between the human gut microbiota and the host endocrine system, evaluating the shift from purely DNA-based profiling to functional activity and metabolic regulation in health and gastrointestinal conditions like inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative values or statistical comparisons. It notes two primary conceptual points from recent literature: microbial DNA abundance does not consistently correlate with functional metabolic activity, and host health status—including human hormone production and metabolism—actively regulates gut microbial metabolism.
Why it matters
It emphasizes that microbiome studies must transition from cataloging taxonomic composition to assessing actual metabolic activity and bi-directional endocrine interactions to understand host-microbe dynamics.
Limits
The paper is a non-systematic narrative review providing no primary human data, quantitative metrics, or predefined study selection criteria in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports The human gut microbiome is composed of trillions of microorganisms that line the digestive tract and impact immune status, metabolic health, and hormone regulation.