ArticleNature2016
Acetate mediates a microbiome-brain-β-cell axis to promote metabolic syndrome.
Article in Nature, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 705 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
705 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,271 citations in OpenAlex.
- The gut-prostate axis in benign prostatic hyperplasia: systematic review of microbial dysbiosis and pathogenic mechanisms.BMC urology · 2026Pooled it
- Changes in short-chain fatty acids across the glycemic spectrum: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- The microbiota-gut-brain-epigenome axis as a novel therapeutic target for decoding postpartum depression.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The Role of Gut Microbiota in Pediatric Obesity and Metabolic Disorders: Insights from a Comprehensive Review.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis in Metabolic Syndrome and Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- The efficacy and safety of qiwei baizhu san in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Microbiota-Gut-Brain Cross-Talk with a Focus on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Testosterone administration partially modulates gut microbiota responses to severe energy deficit.American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Trial
- Taxonomic and functional shifts in the microbiome of severely obese, prediabetic patients: Ketogenic diet versus energy-matched standard diet.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Trial
- Modulatory Effects of Multi-species/Multi-strain Synbiotic and L-carnitine Concomitant Supplementation on Atherogenic-Indices, Body Composition, Visceral Obesity, and Appetite in Metabolically Healthy Women with Obesity: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BL-99 in the treatment of functional dyspepsia: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.Nature communications · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Promotion of long-term health in early life.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Effect of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SCS6 on pancreatic oxidative damage in mice with type 2 diabetes based on gut-pancreas axis.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2026Article
- Urinary metabolomics data and cognitive performance in an adult population.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Article
- Review
- Weight Gain During SSRI Therapy: The Potential Role of the Gut Microbiota-A Narrative Review and Mechanistic Hypothesis.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Immune dysregulation and gut microbiota: Connection to health and disease development.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Metabolic shifts driven by host-microbial interactions.The FEBS journal · 2026Review
- Recent advances in methotrexate pharmacology and potential therapeutic uses in age-related cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases.Pharmacological reviews · 2026Review
645 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Obesity, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome are associated with changes to the gut microbiota; however, the mechanism by which modifications to the gut microbiota might lead to these conditions is unknown. Here we show that increased production of acetate by an altered gut microbiota in rodents leads to activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which, in turn, promotes increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, increased ghrelin secretion, hyperphagia, obesity and related sequelae. Together, these findings identify increased acetate production resulting from a nutrient-gut microbiota interaction and subsequent parasympathetic activation as possible therapeutic targets for obesity.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.