Health-promoting intestinal bacteria research in the Pedersen Group

Research focus

Oluf Pedersen and his research team contribute to gain novel insights into the complex and multifactorial aetiology of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders – scientific efforts that aim for novel approaches to prevent and treat common diseases in epidemic growth.
A major research effort focuses at the role of intestinal microbial metabolism in human host metabolism in healthy and metabolically diseased individuals. For this purpose, the research team is combining host physiology or pathophysiology with quantitative metagenomics of the gut microbial communities and with monitoring of other omics-driven molecular read-outs. Findings done in association studies are followed up in various mechanistic experiments.

Main findings

Human gut microbes impact host serum metabolome and insulin sensitivity. Pedersen HK, Gudmundsdottir V, Nielsen HB, Hyotylainen T, Nielsen T, Jensen BA, Forslund K, Hildebrand F, Prifti E, Falony G, Le Chatelier E, Levenez F, Doré J, Mattila I, Plichta DR, Pöhö P, Hellgren LI, Arumugam M, Sunagawa S, Vieira-Silva S, Jørgensen T, Holm JB, Trošt K; MetaHIT Consortium, Kristiansen K, Brix S, Raes J, Wang J, Hansen T, Bork P, Brunak S, Oresic M, Ehrlich SD, Pedersen O. Nature. 2016 Jul 21; 535(7612):376-81. The study points to the role of specific gut bacteria and their derived microbial molecules involved in human insulin resistance.

Disentangling type 2 diabetes and metformin treatment signatures in the human gut microbiota. Forslund K, Hildebrand F, Nielsen T, Falony G, Le Chatelier E, Sunagawa S, Prifti E, Vieira-Silva S,Gudmundsdottir V, Krogh Pedersen H, Arumugam M, Kristiansen K, Voigt AY, Vestergaard H, Hercog R, Igor Costea P, Kultima JR, Li J, Jørgensen T, Levenez F, Dore J; MetaHIT consortium, Nielsen HB, Brunak S, Raes J, Hansen T, Wang J, Ehrlich SD, Bork P, Pedersen O. Nature. 2015 Dec 10; 528(7581):262-6. The findings emphasizes the need to separate authentic disease signatures of the intestinal microbiome from those which are introduced by prescribed drugs.

Richness of human gut microbiome correlates with metabolic markers. Le Chatelier E, Nielsen T, Qin J, Prifti E, Hildebrand F, Falony G, Almeida M, Arumugam M, Batto JM, Kennedy S, Leonard P, Li J, Burgdorf K, Grarup N, Jørgensen T, Brandslund I, Nielsen HB, Juncker AS, Bertalan M, Levenez F, Pons N, Rasmussen S, Sunagawa S, Tap J, Tims S, Zoetendal EG, Brunak S, Clément K, Doré J, Kleerebezem M, Kristiansen K, Renault P, Sicheritz-Ponten T, de Vos WM, Zucker JD, Raes J, Hansen T; MetaHIT consortium, Bork P, Wang J, Ehrlich S, Pedersen O. Nature. 2013 Aug 29; 500(7464):541-6. The study demonstrates how low gut microbial gene richness relates to insulin resistance, inflammation and increased body adiposity.

Staff of the Borbye Pedersen group

Group leader: Professor Oluf Borbye Pedersen