Gut microbiota drives colon cancer risk associated with diet: a comparative analysis of meat-based and pesco-vegetarian diets – Microbiome
Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is strongly affected by dietary habits with red and processed meat increasing risk, and foods rich in dietary fibres considered protective. Dietary habits also shape gut microbiota, but the role of the combination between diet, the gut microbiota, and the metabolite profile on CRC risk is still missing an unequivocal characterisation. Methods To investigate how gut microbiota affects diet-associated CRC risk, we fed Apc-mutated PIRC rats and azoxymethane (AOM)-induced rats the following diets: a high-risk red/processed meat-based diet (MBD), a normalised risk diet (MBD with α-tocopherol, MBDT), a low-risk pesco-vegetarian diet (PVD), and control diet. We then conducted faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from PIRC rats to germ-free rats treated with AOM and fed a standard diet for 3 months. We analysed multiple tumour markers and assessed the variations in the faecal microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing together with targeted- and untarg
