Gut microbiota and metabolic syndrome

Symbiosis is the result of the relationship between gut microbiota and human surfaces; in fact, it regulates many functions such as metabolic and protective ones. It is widely known that any changes in the microbes in gut microbiota (dysbiosis) and the regulation of mucosal and systemic host's immunity have been linked to different diseases such as metabolic syndromes and associated disorders. Recent studies report an aberrant gut microbiota and an alteration of gut microbial metabolic activities in obese subjects, with an important influence of a number of human physiological functions. Most studies suggest that diet, especially the high-fat low-fiber western-style diet, dramatically impacts on gut microbiota composition and functions in those patients with metabolic syndrome. A deeper knowledge of a specific microbiota profile associated with increased risk of metabolic disease and its subsequent modification induced by prebiotics, probiotics or targeted antibiotics will be necessary for the development of new therapeutic approaches in the treatment of metabolic disease.