Our focus
The human intestinal tract is inhabited by 10-100 trillion microbes consisting of thousands of different species that have co-evolved with the human host. This microbial community, termed the gut microbiota, has an immense capacity to affect host biology.
It is fundamental to many processes, including development of our immune system, processing of otherwise indigestible dietary polysaccharides, and production of vitamins and hormones. However, increasing evidence indicates that perturbations of the gut microbiota contribute to a range of diseases, including obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.
Our approach
We take a translational approach to investigate the role of the gut microbiota in cardiometabolic diseases, focusing on diabetes, hepatic steatosis, atherosclerosis, and heart failure.
By identifying associations between gut bacteria and/or their metabolites and cardiometabolic markers in large population-based cohort studies, we generate hypotheses that could explain how the microbiota contributes to metabolic diseases.
Our hypotheses are tested using a variety of tools, including gnotobiotic mice, primary cell culture, and bioreactors to establish causality and determine the underlying molecular mechanisms.
Words describing the culture in our lab.
Recently published
Our team has co-authored a large number of highly impactful original research and literature review articles.
Microbially produced imidazole propionate is associated with heart failure and mortality
Open access article online, JACC Heart Failure, April 2023
This article, by first author Antonio Molinaro, was recently published online in JACC Heart Failure and shows how the gut microbial metabolite ImP is increased in individuals with heart failure and is a predictor of overall survival...
6α-hydroxylated bile acids mediate TGR5 signalling to improve glucose metabolism upon dietary fiber supplementation in mice
Article, Gut, February 2023
In this article, Kassem Makki et al, show that modulation of the gut microbiota with oligofructose enriches bacteria involved in 6α-hydroxylated bile acid production and leads to TGR5-GLP1R axis activation to improve body weight and metabolism under western-style diet feeding in mice...
Microbiome-derived ethanol in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Article, Nature Medicine 10 Oct, 2022
Fredrik Bäckhed is one of the Co-authors of this article were it is concluded that the human gut microbiota produces large amounts of ethanol that might be clinically relevant for the pathogenesis of NAFLD...
The potential of tailoring the gut microbiome to prevent and treat cardiometabolic disease
Review article, Nat Rev Cardiol, 14 Oct 2022
In this review, Rima Chakaroun, Lisa Olsson, Fredrik Bäckhed provide an overview of the current evidence on the interconnectedness of the gut microbiome and CVD against the noisy backdrop of highly prevalent confounders in advanced CVD, such as increased metabolic burden and polypharmacy...
Our team
Our laboratory’s location, within Sahlgrenska University Hospital, provides unique opportunities to engage with clinicians and study participants and pursue basic and translational research.
To achieve our overarching aim of improving human health by targeting the gut microbiota, we have developed a research group comprising experts in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, metabolomics, proteomics, epigenetics, physiology, bioinformatics, and medicine from around the world.
Work in the Bäckhed group is supported by:
