Microbial metabolites and heart failure: Friends or enemies?

Heart failure (HF), a global health issue characterized by structural or functional cardiac dysfunction, which was found to be associated with the gut microbiome recently. Although multiple studies suggested that the gut microbiome may have an impact on the development of cardiovascular diseases, the underlying mechanism of the gut microbiome in HF remains unclear. The study of metabolites from gut microbiota influenced by dietary nutrition uptake suggested that gut microbiota may affect the process of HF. However, on the basis of the microbiota's complicated roles and their interactions with metabolites, studies of microbial metabolites in HF had rarely been described so far. In this review, we focused on dietary nutrition-related factors that were involved in the development and progression of HF, such as trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and bile acids (BAs), to summarize their advances and several potential targets in HF. From a therapeutic standpoint, we discussed microbial metabolites as a potential strategy and their applications in HF as well.

Automated summary

The gut microbiome has recently been found to be associated with heart failure (HF), a global health issue characterized by cardiac dysfunction. Although the underlying mechanism is still unclear, studies have suggested that microbial metabolites influenced by dietary factors may affect the development of HF. This review focuses on the advances and potential therapeutic targets in HF related to trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and bile acids (BAs), as well as the potential application of microbial metabolites in HF therapy.