Antibiotics; good gone bad? Impact on liver immunity and susceptibility to injury

Bile acids are key players in the mutualistic host-microbiome relationship. The liver synthesises bile acids that are transported into the gut where they have a relevant bactericidal function, preserving intestinal microbial homeostasis. Importantly, some specific microbes convert primary bile acids into secondary species that have shown to regulate the activity of specific immune cells homing the liver. Mounting evidence support that antibiotics have long-lasting effects in modifying our microbiome composition and even lead to the loss of certain species. Thus, changes in the microbiome composition after antibiotics may have long-term effects in host health, by regulating metabolism and immunity although this hasn't been explored yet.

To gain a better understanding of how antibiotics impact on our metabolism and immune response will enable us to propose strategies to preserve and improve liver metabolic function and overall whole-body health. The aim of this project is to define the impact of antibiotics in bile acid metabolism via changing the microbiome composition and how this may affect the immune response and the susceptibility to injury in the liver.