ArticleNature communications2018
Short-chain fatty acids regulate systemic bone mass and protect from pathological bone loss.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 474 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
474 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 711 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Gut-Bone Axis and Skeletal Health: Regulatory Mechanisms and Therapeutic Applications of Plant-Derived Bioactive Compounds.Biomolecules · 2026Pooled it
- Probiotic Supplements Benefit Psoriasis Therapy Rather Than Affecting Disease Risk: Evidence from NHANES Machine-Learning and Meta-Analysis Study.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Pooled it
- Machine Learning Models To Characterize the Association of the Gut Microbiota with Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: A Multi-Cohort Study.Current microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Gut microbiome and bone health: update on mechanisms, clinical correlations, and possible treatment strategies.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2025Pooled it
- A young child formula with Limosilactobacillus reuteri and GOS modulates gut microbiome and enhances bone and muscle development: a randomized trial.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- Can supplements with prebiotic fibres positively influence bone health in type 2 diabetes? Insights from a randomised controlled crossover trial.Archives of osteoporosis · 2025Trial
- Gut microbiota in chronic inflammation: the interplay with lipid mediators.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Engineered probiotic-derived indole-3-propionic acid inhibits ubiquitination via AHR signaling to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- Gut microbiome-derived propionate reprograms alveolar macrophages metabolically and regulates lung injury responses in mice.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- The gut-bone axis: microbial metabolism and nutritional interventions for bone health.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Article
- Gut microbiota in early and established stages of rheumatoid arthritis: from pathogenesis to promising prevention and treatment.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- Faecalibacterium prausnitzii: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Potential in Host-Microbe Crosstalk.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- Gut Microbiome Signatures Associated with Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fracture.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Bacterial small RNAs and extracellular vesicles in inflammatory and osteoimmune diseases: regulatory mechanisms and host-microbe communication.Archives of microbiology · 2026Review
- Precision management of gastrointestinal tumor-associated osteoporosis driven by cutting-edge technologies: Current status, challenges, and future prospects.World journal of methodology · 2026Review
- The Human Microbiome in Airborne Particulate Matter-Associated Aging-Related Chronic Diseases: An Evidence-Stratified Review.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Plasma polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism associations with bone mineral density and bone turnover in pre- and postmenopausal women living with HIV.Clinical nutrition ESPEN · 2026Article
- Integrated metabolomic and gut microbiota analyses reveal TCA cycle dysfunction in broiler skeletal disorders and the protective effect of L‑malic acid.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Targeting the Gut-Bone Axis with Prebiotics, Probiotics, Synbiotics, and Postbiotics: From Mechanistic Plausibility to Clinical Bone Outcomes.Nutrients · 2026Review
414 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Microbial metabolites are known to modulate immune responses of the host. The main metabolites derived from microbial fermentation of dietary fibers in the intestine, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), affect local and systemic immune functions. Here we show that SCFA are regulators of osteoclast metabolism and bone mass in vivo. Treatment of mice with SCFA as well as feeding with a high-fiber diet significantly increases bone mass and prevents postmenopausal and inflammation-induced bone loss. The protective effects of SCFA on bone mass are associated with inhibition of osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption in vitro and in vivo, while bone formation is not affected. Mechanistically, propionate (C3) and butyrate (C4) induce metabolic reprogramming of osteoclasts resulting in enhanced glycolysis at the expense of oxidative phosphorylation, thereby downregulating essential osteoclast genes such as TRAF6 and NFATc1. In summary, these data identify SCFA as potent regulators of osteoclast metabolism and bone homeostasis.
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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.