The effects and mechanism of action of methane on ileal motor function

Park, Y. M.; Lee, Y. J.; Hussain, Zahid; Lee, Y. H.; Park, Hyunkook

doi:10.1111/nmo.13077

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…showed that direct infusion of CH 4 in animals slows intestinal transit, and also showed that segments of guinea pig ileum exhibit increased contractile impulses when bathed in CH 4 ( 33 ). CH 4 appears to cause dysregulation in motility by amplifying neuronal activity in the intestine through the anticholinergic pathway ( 34 ). In humans, a study showed that the degree of constipation correlated with breath CH 4 levels in subjects with IBS ( 31 ).…”

Section: Prevalence Of Sibo In Ibsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and Irritable Bowel Syndrome – An Update

2020

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Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is one manifestation of gut microbiome dysbiosis and is highly prevalent in IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). SIBO can be diagnosed either by a small bowel aspirate culture showing ≥10 3 colony-forming units (CFU) per mL of aspirate, or a positive hydrogen lactulose or glucose breath test. Numerous pathogenic organisms have been shown to be increased in subjects with SIBO and IBS, including but not limited to Enterococcus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella. In addition, Methanobrevibacter smithii, the causal organism in a positive methane breath test, has been linked to constipation predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). As M. smithii is an archaeon and can overgrow in areas outside of the small intestine, it was recently proposed that the term intestinal methanogen overgrowth (IMO) is more appropriate for the overgrowth of these organisms. Due to gut microbiome dysbiosis, patients with IBS may have increased intestinal permeability, dysmotility, chronic inflammation, autoimmunity, decreased absorption of bile salts, and even altered enteral and central neuronal activity. As a consequence, SIBO and IBS share a myriad of symptoms including abdominal pain, distention, diarrhea, and bloating. Furthermore, gut microbiome dysbiosis may be associated with select neuropsychological symptoms, although more research is needed to confirm this connection. This review will focus on the role of the gut microbiome and SIBO in IBS, as well as novel innovations that may help better characterize intestinal overgrowth and microbial dysbiosis.

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Section: Prevalence Of Sibo In Ibsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and Irritable Bowel Syndrome – An Update

2020

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“…Methane, therefore, significantly increased calcium fluorescence while this increase was attenuated following atropine infusion. EFS and the fluorescence, however, remain unchanged with calcium infusions, tetrodotoxin (TTX), and guanethidine [6,20,25].…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These microbiotas generate methane gas from the fermentation of endogenous and exogenous carbohydrates. Methane, which was long considered to be an inert gas, is now known to behave as a neurotransmitter that has paved the path for pharmacologic therapy to create novel drugs targetting methanogenesis, in particular, to control C-IBS [6-7]. This unique correlation of irritable bowel syndrome with methane makes it a center of attraction and further stresses on how important it is to study this association.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane and Constipation-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Entwining Pillars of Emerging Neurogastroenterology

Waqar¹,

Rehan²

2019

Cureus

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Functional gut disorders have long known to cause depravity in quality of life. Among the group of these heterogeneous disorders, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has been known to affect a large chunk of our population. IBS is not as simple as it sounds. Caused by a multitude of factors, the heterogeneity of this disorder has laid the foundation for research and the new principles of neurogastroenterology. Dysbiosis and methane production are one of the forthcoming factors that are currently under investigation. Down the road of exclusive enteric anaerobic fermentation of polysaccharides, methane is produced. It was considered to be an inert gas in the past, with little to no role in gut activity but now it is established that it has an impressive role in the etiology of constipation-predominant IBS (C-IBS). Acting as a neurotransmitter, it is known to affect ileal and colonic transit time, which has currently been shown in animal studies. Many laxatives, ionophore antibiotics, drugs like rifamixin and neomycin have been targeted against this very principle. Lately, lovastatin has emerged as a potential pharmacologic therapy to devoid the gut of methane without disrupting the gut niche in itself and has shown promise in relieving the symptoms of C-IBS. The goal of this article is to compile and assemble the literature available on IBS and the neuromodulation of methane to teach physicians and research scientists about the current age of gastroenterology and the growing need to emphasize the role of methane in the symptomatology of functional gut disorders like C-IBS.

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“…For example, in both animal models and humans studies, CH 4 has been associated with a slowed intestinal transit time [6, 7], and suppression of CH 4 production with antibiotics has been associated with improvement in constipation [8]. Although the mechanism is not fully elucidated, CH 4 is thought to affect intestinal smooth muscle contraction as a gasotransmitter via a cholinergic pathway [9]. Supporting its role in the parasympathetic pathway, Robinson-Papp et al [10] have shown that patients with vagal dysfunction have increased breath CH 4 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exhaled Methane Is Associated with a Lower Heart Rate

Takakura¹,

Chang²,

Pimentel³

et al. 2021

Cardiology

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Background: In humans, methane (CH4) is exclusively produced by the intestinal microbiota and has been implicated in several conditions including cardiovascular disease. After microbial production of CH4 in the gut, it steadily crosses into the systemic circulation and reaches the lungs where it can be detected in the exhaled breath, as a surrogate measure for intestinal CH4 production. Recent reports have shown an association between CH4 and vagal dysfunction as well as the inhibition of CH4 activity on ileal contractions with atropine, suggesting its action on the parasympathetic nervous system. Given these findings we hypothesized that CH4 may be affecting resting heart rate based on the potential effect of CH4 on the vagus nerve. Objectives: Given its possible role in the parasympathetic nervous system, we aimed to study the relationship between breath CH4 and resting heart rate (HR) in humans. Additionally, we performed a longitudinal study analyzing the change in HR and its association to breath CH4 over time. Methods: First, we reviewed 1,126 subjects and compared HR in subjects with detectable and undetectable breath CH4. Second, we performed a post-hoc analysis of a randomized control trial to compare the change in HR for those who had an increase in breath CH4 vs those that had a decrease in breath CH4 over 14 weeks. Lastly, we assessed whether a larger decrease in CH4 is associated with a larger increase in HR over time. Results: In the retrospective cohort, subjects with detectable CH4 had a lower HR compared to those with undetectable CH4 (73.0±0.83 vs 76.0±0.44 beats/min; p=0.01). In the post-hoc analysis, a decrease in CH4 over time was associated with an increase in heart rate (median ∆ = 6.5 ± 8.32 beats/min, p=0.0006). Lastly, we demonstrated a biological gradient whereby a larger drop in CH4 is associated with a greater increase in heart rate (R= -0.31, p=0.03). Conclusion: Our findings suggest a potential role for the microbiome (and specifically CH4 from methanogens) to regulate heart rate. Considering these findings, mechanistic studies are warranted to further investigate this potential novel microbiome-neurocardiac axis.

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The effects and mechanism of action of methane on ileal motor function

Abstract: The actions of methane on the intestine are influenced by the cholinergic pathway of the enteric nervous system. Our findings support the classification of methane as a gasotransmitter.

Cited by 22 publications

References 42 publications

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and Irritable Bowel Syndrome – An Update

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and Irritable Bowel Syndrome – An Update

Methane and Constipation-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Entwining Pillars of Emerging Neurogastroenterology

Exhaled Methane Is Associated with a Lower Heart Rate

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