← brief for 2026-09-08 · Nutrition & lifestyle

Gut microbial phenol impairs energy metabolism and promotes sarcopenic obesity-like phenotypes in mice

Key takeaways

Gut bacteria produce a waste chemical called phenol, which builds up in people whose kidneys are not clearing waste well. In mice, that chemical disrupted how the body burns energy and produced a pattern of muscle loss with fat gain. This was done in mice, not people, so it is not evidence about human treatment. It is relevant because muscle wasting is a common and serious problem in kidney disease, and it points at gut bacteria as one possible cause.

Who did this work

Shiori Oishi (University of Shizuoka) · Kisaki Ikeda (University of Shizuoka) · Misaki Matsui (University of Shizuoka) · Sae Yuyama (University of Shizuoka) · Tomoki Sato (University of Shizuoka) · Momoka Yamaguchi (University of Shizuoka) · Takuya Yoshida (Prefectural University of Kumamoto) · Tadashi Fujii (Fujita Health University) · Takumi Tochio (Fujita Health University) · Hisayoshi Hayashi (University of Shizuoka) · Shinji Miura (University of Shizuoka) · Takuma Kobayashi (University of Shizuoka)

Source

Paper · OpenAlex, CKD works · 2026-09-07
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-70256-4