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Update History 2025-11-15 06:41:30
Short-chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) majorpublished
Did you know?
Short-chain fatty acids produced by gut microbes supply up to seventy percent of the energy used by colonocytes, making them fundamental regulators of intestinal barrier integrity and inflammation.
Short-chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs)
Short-chain fatty acids are microbially derived metabolites that regulate epithelial integrity, immune signaling, and microbial ecology. Their production patterns and mechanistic roles provide essential functional markers within microbiome signatures and support the interpretation of BTIs, MAs, and systems-level microbial shifts across clinical conditions.
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Karen Pendergrass
Read MoreKaren Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease—four years before the first published case study.
Microbiome Signatures identifies and validates condition-specific microbiome shifts and interventions to accelerate clinical translation. Our multidisciplinary team supports clinicians, researchers, and innovators in turning microbiome science into actionable medicine.
Karen Pendergrass
Overview
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are microbially produced organic acids, primarily acetate, propionate, and butyrate, generated through the anaerobic fermentation of dietary fibers and resistant substrates in the gut. Their relevance within microbiome science stems from their ability to regulate intestinal epithelial integrity, immune signaling, microbial ecology, and metabolic homeostasis, which makes them central to translational frameworks in the Microbiome Signatures Database.
SCFAs function as key ecological and metabolic intermediates that shape host–microbe crosstalk through GPCR signaling, histone deacetylase inhibition, pH modulation, and carbon flux redistribution within gut communities. Mechanistically, they support barrier protection by fueling colonocytes, influence T regulatory cell induction, and modulate inflammatory pathways that determine nutrient availability, metallomic gradients, and pathogen suppression. These functional pathways position SCFAs as critical components within systems biology models, where nutrient chemistry, immune tone, microbial trophic networks, and metabolic outputs intersect.
Within the Microbiome Signatures framework, SCFAs help characterize condition-specific microbial function rather than taxonomy. Their patterns of production, depletion, or altered ratios contribute to defining Major Microbial Associations (MMAs), informing diagnostic interpretations of microbial shifts and supporting Microbiome-Targeted Intervention (MBTI) evaluations.
Summary Table
| Functional Role | Mechanistic or Microbial Association |
|---|---|
| Acetate, propionate, and butyrate production | Fermentation of dietary fibers by anaerobic gut bacteria |
| Regulation of epithelial barrier integrity | Butyrate-dependent colonocyte energy support and tight-junction reinforcement |
| Immune modulation | GPCR signaling and T regulatory cell induction influencing inflammatory tone |
| Microbial ecological structuring | Environmental acidification and cross-feeding networks shaping community composition |
| Metallomic and nutrient availability effects | SCFA-mediated pH and redox changes altering metal solubility and nutrient immunity dynamics |
Research Feed
The role of key gut microbial metabolites in the development and treatment of cancer
February 27, 2022
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Microbes •
Short-chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) •
Short-chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs)
Did you know?
Short-chain fatty acids produced by gut microbes supply up to seventy percent of the energy used by colonocytes, making them fundamental regulators of intestinal barrier integrity and inflammation.
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Update History
Major Microbial Associations (MMAs)
Major Microbial Associations (MMAs) are fundamental in understanding disease-microbiome interactions and play a crucial role in advancing microbiome-targeted interventions aimed at treating or preventing diseases through microbial modulation.
Microbiome-Targeted Interventions (MBTIs)
Microbiome Targeted Interventions (MBTIs) are cutting-edge treatments that utilize information from Microbiome Signatures to modulate the microbiome, revolutionizing medicine with unparalleled precision and impact.
Short-chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs)
Short-chain fatty acids are microbially derived metabolites that regulate epithelial integrity, immune signaling, and microbial ecology. Their production patterns and mechanistic roles provide essential functional markers within microbiome signatures and support the interpretation of MBTIs, MMAs, and systems-level microbial shifts across clinical conditions.