A microbiome-dependent gut-bone axis determines skeletal benefits from mechanical loading

Abstract

A recent study published in Cell Metabolism entitled “Gut microbial alterations in arginine metabolism determine bone mechanical adaptation” demonstrated that administration of L-arginine enhanced bone mechanical adaptation by activating a nitric oxide-calcium feedback loop in osteocytes. The findings revealed that mechanical regulation of bone adaptation is associated with gut microbiota. The underlying cause of heterogeneity of bone mechanoresponsiveness was the significant difference in the composition of the gut microbiota, in which the family Lachnospiraceae contributed to the inter-individual high variability in bone mechanical adaptation. Additionally, administration of Lachnospiraceae exhibited increased expression levels of L-citrulline and L-arginine and enhanced bone mechanoresponsiveness in recipients. Collectively, this study provides mechanistic insights into inter-individual variability of the gut microbial, which is related to the heterogeneity of bone mechanical adaptation and provides a novel preventive and therapeutic strategy to anti-osteoporotic for maximizing bone mechanoresponsiveness via the microbiota-metabolite axis.