Understanding Veillonella atypica as a Potential Metabolic Mediator Between Lactic Acidosis and Exercise Resistance in Diabetic Gut Microbiomes
Location
Room 232, Schewel Hall
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Entry Number
78
Start Date
4-5-2023 9:15 AM
End Date
4-5-2023 9:30 AM
College
Lynchburg College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Biology
Keywords
Veillonella atypica, exercise resistance, non-responders, diabetes, dysbiosis, lactic acidosis, glucose homeostasis, short-chain fatty acids, gut microbiome, lactate-metabolizing gut bacteria
Abstract
Diabetes is one of the leading health threats to Western societies, and physicians routinely recommend exercise for more efficient glucose metabolism in diabetics. However, despite exercising, many patients still struggle with both excess glucose production and ineffective glucose uptake. This phenomenon, known as exercise resistance, means that exercise is either ineffective or harmful for diabetics. While some diabetics may not respond well to exercise due to mitochondrial limitations, other factors, such as gut microbiome dysbiosis and lactic acidosis, could be greater contributors. Lactate-metabolizing gut bacteria, such as Veillonella atypica, could aid exercising diabetics by improving dysbiosis and lactic acidosis, mediating exercise’s negative effects. V. atypica is traditionally classified as a strict anaerobe that has the potential ability to metabolize lactate into usable short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Therefore, V. atypica could metabolize exercise-induced lactate into SCFA, which could then be used for host energy, decreasing systemic lactate levels in the blood, or aiding in diabetes-related hormone regulation. However, many of V. atypica’s species characteristics in the literature have only been supported by genomic studies, so this project’s goal is to begin to characterize V. atypica’s features in the laboratory. This study will determine V. atypica’s preferred culture conditions and oxygen tolerance, and it will also use growth assays to better understand V. atypica’s lactate metabolism pathways. Data will contribute to the potential development of a V. atypica-based probiotic to mediate exercise resistance in diabetics.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Jamie Brooks Dr. David Freier Dr. Price Blair
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Understanding Veillonella atypica as a Potential Metabolic Mediator Between Lactic Acidosis and Exercise Resistance in Diabetic Gut Microbiomes
Room 232, Schewel Hall
Diabetes is one of the leading health threats to Western societies, and physicians routinely recommend exercise for more efficient glucose metabolism in diabetics. However, despite exercising, many patients still struggle with both excess glucose production and ineffective glucose uptake. This phenomenon, known as exercise resistance, means that exercise is either ineffective or harmful for diabetics. While some diabetics may not respond well to exercise due to mitochondrial limitations, other factors, such as gut microbiome dysbiosis and lactic acidosis, could be greater contributors. Lactate-metabolizing gut bacteria, such as Veillonella atypica, could aid exercising diabetics by improving dysbiosis and lactic acidosis, mediating exercise’s negative effects. V. atypica is traditionally classified as a strict anaerobe that has the potential ability to metabolize lactate into usable short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Therefore, V. atypica could metabolize exercise-induced lactate into SCFA, which could then be used for host energy, decreasing systemic lactate levels in the blood, or aiding in diabetes-related hormone regulation. However, many of V. atypica’s species characteristics in the literature have only been supported by genomic studies, so this project’s goal is to begin to characterize V. atypica’s features in the laboratory. This study will determine V. atypica’s preferred culture conditions and oxygen tolerance, and it will also use growth assays to better understand V. atypica’s lactate metabolism pathways. Data will contribute to the potential development of a V. atypica-based probiotic to mediate exercise resistance in diabetics.