ArticleCell host & microbe2017
Metabolic, Epigenetic, and Transgenerational Effects of Gut Bacterial Choline Consumption.
Article in Cell host & microbe, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 135 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
135 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 233 citations in OpenAlex.
- The microbiota-gut-brain-epigenome axis as a novel therapeutic target for decoding postpartum depression.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Gut Microbiome-Dependent Metabolic Pathways and Risk of Lethal Prostate Cancer: Prospective Analysis of a PLCO Cancer Screening Trial Cohort.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2022Trial
- Microbial Transplantation With Human Gut Commensals Containing CutC Is Sufficient to Transmit Enhanced Platelet Reactivity and Thrombosis Potential.Circulation research · 2018Trial
- Microbial epigenetic regulation as a multilevel regulatory interface in host-microbe interactions.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Habitual Ultra-processed Food Intake Is Associated with Gut Dysbiosis and Pro-inflammatory Metabolite Profiles in Korean Patients with IBD.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2026Article
- Choline status and related health outcomes in humans: A scoping review.Nutrition and health · 2026Article
- [Research progress on the effects of maternal gut microbiota in gestational obesity on offspring and potential mechanisms].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2026Review
- Gut microbiome community structure correlates with different behavioral phenotypes in the Belyaev Farm-Fox Experiment.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Phenotypic high-throughput screening identifies modulators of gut microbial choline metabolism.mBio · 2026Article
- Prenatal cadmium exposure and male infertility in mice: A multi-generational mechanistic study.Eco-Environment & Health · 2026Article
- Choline and DNA methylation: impact across metabolic, oncogenic and neurodevelopmental disorders.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Review
- Heart Failure in the Molecular Era: Redefining Our Understanding of Disease Mechanisms and Perspectives.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Investigation of bile salt hydrolase activity in human gut bacteria reveals production of conjugated secondary bile acids.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Trimethylamine N-oxide and related metabolites may regulate DNA methylation and trigger cardiovascular disease.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Article
- Gut microbe-derived trimethylamine shapes circadian rhythms through the host receptor TAAR5.eLife · 2026Article
- Characterization of dietary choline uptake by the gut microbiome reveals choline assimilating microbes and influences on host choline metabolism.Research square · 2026Article
- tRNA mCell discovery · 2026Article
- Mental health and gut-brain crosstalk: implications for depression and Alzheimer's disease.Neuroscience applied · 2026Review
- 1H MR Spectroscopy at 3T for Hepatic Choline Quantification in Healthy Young Women: A Translational Imaging Study with Dietary Correlation.Current medical imaging · 2026Article
- The maternal gut-fetal brain axis: role of maternal microbial metabolome in early neurodevelopment.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
75 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Choline is an essential nutrient and methyl donor required for epigenetic regulation. Here, we assessed the impact of gut microbial choline metabolism on bacterial fitness and host biology by engineering a microbial community that lacks a single choline-utilizing enzyme. Our results indicate that choline-utilizing bacteria compete with the host for this nutrient, significantly impacting plasma and hepatic levels of methyl-donor metabolites and recapitulating biochemical signatures of choline deficiency. Mice harboring high levels of choline-consuming bacteria showed increased susceptibility to metabolic disease in the context of a high-fat diet. Furthermore, bacterially induced reduction of methyl-donor availability influenced global DNA methylation patterns in both adult mice and their offspring and engendered behavioral alterations. Our results reveal an underappreciated effect of bacterial choline metabolism on host metabolism, epigenetics, and behavior. This work suggests that interpersonal differences in microbial metabolism should be considered when determining optimal nutrient intake requirements.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.