Small molecules in the big picture of gut microbiome-host cross-talk

Research on the gut microbiome and related diseases is rapidly growing with the development of sequencing technologies. An increasing number of studies offer new perspectives on disease development or treatment. Among these, the mechanisms of gut microbial metabolite-mediated effects merit better understanding. In this review, we first summarize the shifts in gut microbial metabolites within complex diseases, in which metabolites have correlational and occasionally causal effects on diseases and discuss the reported mechanisms. We further investigate the interactions between gut microbes and drugs, providing insights for precision medication as well as limitations of current research. Finally, we provide new research directions and research strategies for the development of drugs from gut microbial metabolites. FUNDING STATEMENT: None.