The hidden cost of antibiotics: microbial dysbiosis-induced SCFA imbalance and its underlying mechanisms
Abstract
Antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum types, disrupt the gut microbiota by indiscriminately killing both pathogenic and beneficial bacteria, leading to dysbiosis. This dysbiosis directly contributes to an imbalance in metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) produced by gut bacteria from indigestible carbohydrates. Such shifts promote the selective expansion of facultative anaerobic pathogens, particularly Proteobacteria, thereby exacerbating epithelial oxidative stress and low-grade inflammation. Simultaneously, reduced SCFA availability disrupts tight junction expression, increases intestinal permeability, and impairs immune regulation by limiting Regulatory T cell (Treg) differentiation and attenuating G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) (e.g., Free fatty acid receptor (FFAR) 2/3) and histone deacetylase (HDAC)-dependent anti-inflammatory pathways. Furthermore, antibiotic-induced SCFA depletion impairs GPCR-mediated signaling and disrupts vagal and enteroendocrine pathways that mediate gut-brain communication. Consequences of this antibiotic-dysbiosis-SCFA imbalance cascade include short-term issues like antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD), as well as long-term risks such as obesity, allergies, asthma, inflammatory diseases, and even impacts on brain development in neonates. In this review, we overview the mechanistic insights of how antibiotics reshape microbiota-derived SCFA profiles and highlight the implications for host health and disease, ultimately…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Horizontal gene transfer in the human gastrointestinal tract: potential spread of antibiotic resistance genes
- Mutation supply and relative fitness shape the genotypes of ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli
- Genomic Survey of E. coli From the Bladders of Women With and Without Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
- Characterization of cefotaxime-resistant urinary Escherichia coli from primary care in South-West England 2017–18
- Fitness cost constrains the spectrum of marR mutations in ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli
- Emerging evidence-based innovative approaches to control catheter-associated urinary tract infection: a review
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.