DOI: 10.57760/sciencedb.32815
title: Emerging regulatory networks and multimodal intervention targeting the gut-bone axis
title: Emerging regulatory networks and multimodal intervention targeting the gut-bone axis

description: Bone metabolism depends on a delicate balance between bone formation and resorption. Disruptions to this balance results in conditions such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis that have significant public health challenges. The gut microbiota (GM) is an important regulator of skeletal health. This feature highlights the role of the gut-bone axis in bone research. This review explores how GM influences bone metabolism, with emphasis on microbial community shifts and the role of gut-derived metabolites in shaping immune, endocrine, and inflammatory responses involved in bone remodeling. Therapeutic strategies that target GM, including dietary modification, probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, are examined for their potential to improve bone health. The review also discusses two less-explored but promising approaches: traditional Chinese medicine and bioengineered materials. Both approaches demonstrate potential in restoring bone homeostasis by engaging in GM interactions. In addition, gut-bone axis-based interventions have made initial progress in clinical randomized controlled trials of bone diseases. Although preclinical findings are encouraging, translating them into clinical applications is challenging because of individual variability in microbiota composition, limited mechanistic insight, and the need for long-term safety data. By integrating cross-disciplinary findings, the present review sets the stage for advancing the gut-bone axis as a therapeutic target and outlines future directions for research and clinical intervention in bone metabolic diseases.
description: Bone metabolism depends on a delicate balance between bone formation and resorption. Disruptions to this balance results in conditions such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis that have significant public health challenges. The gut microbiota (GM) is an important regulator of skeletal health. This feature highlights the role of the gut-bone axis in bone research. This review explores how GM influences bone metabolism, with emphasis on microbial community shifts and the role of gut-derived metabolites in shaping immune, endocrine, and inflammatory responses involved in bone remodeling. Therapeutic strategies that target GM, including dietary modification, probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, are examined for their potential to improve bone health. The review also discusses two less-explored but promising approaches: traditional Chinese medicine and bioengineered materials. Both approaches demonstrate potential in restoring bone homeostasis by engaging in GM interactions. In addition, gut-bone axis-based interventions have made initial progress in clinical randomized controlled trials of bone diseases. Although preclinical findings are encouraging, translating them into clinical applications is challenging because of individual variability in microbiota composition, limited mechanistic insight, and the need for long-term safety data. By integrating cross-disciplinary findings, the present review sets the stage for advancing the gut-bone axis as a therapeutic target and outlines future directions for research and clinical intervention in bone metabolic diseases.