Bile Acids as Key Mediators of the Gut Microbiota-Immune Axis: Potential Biomarker and Therapeutic Perspectives.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of biological mechanisms with no original human data or systematic review methodology
PubMed 41582717 · doi:10.1002/biof.70078
What was done
Narrative review synthesizing mechanistic biology on how gut microbiota-modified bile acids regulate host immune homeostasis (via FXR and TGR5 signaling and Treg/Th17 cell balance) and surveying mass spectrometry analytical methods (HPLC- and UPLC-MS/MS) for profiling bile acids in inflammatory bowel disease and related disorders.
What was found
No quantitative findings or primary numerical data are reported in the abstract. The paper describes qualitative mechanisms where microbial deconjugation and 7α-dehydroxylation alter bile acid pools, influencing receptor activation and intestinal inflammatory pathways.
Why it matters
Synthesizes current understanding of the gut microbiota-bile acid-immune signaling network and highlights the potential of bile acid metabolomics for biomarker discovery and therapeutic targets.
Limits
Narrative review without original empirical data or systematic search methodology; clinical translation and biomarker validation in standardized prospective cohorts remain unestablished.