AUTHOR=Bernard Arnaud , Radoi Loredana , Christensen Jeffrey , Servant Florence , Blasco-Blaque Vincent , Ledoux Séverine , Collet Xavier , Besnard Philippe 

TITLE=A specific tongue microbiota signature is found in patients displaying an improvement of orosensory lipid perception after a sleeve gastrectomy

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.1046454

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.1046454

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>A preferential consumption of low-fat foods is reported by most of the patients after a vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). The fact that a recent study shed light on a relationship between oral microbiota and fat taste sensitivity in obese patients prompted us to explore whether such a connection also exists in the context of a VSG.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Thirty-two adult female patients with a severe obesity (BMI = 43.1 ± 0.7 kg/m<sup>2</sup>) and candidates for a VSG were selected. Oral microbiota composition surrounding the gustatory circumvallate papillae (CVP) and the lipid perception thresholds were explored before and 6 months after surgery.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>VSG was found to be associated both with a qualitative (compositional changes) and quantitative (lower gene richness) remodeling of the peri-CVP microbiota. Analysis of the lipid perception allowed us to distinguish two subgroups: patients with a post-operative improvement of the fat taste sensitivity (<italic>i.e.</italic>, with a lower threshold, <italic>n</italic> = 14) and unimproved patients (<italic>n</italic> = 18). Specific peri-CVP microbiota signatures also discriminated these two subgroups, unimproved patient being characterized by higher levels of <italic>Porphyromonas, Fusobacterium</italic>, and <italic>Haemophilus</italic> genera associated with lower levels of <italic>Atopobium</italic> and <italic>Prevotella</italic> genera as compared to the lipid-improved patients.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Collectively, these data raise the possibility that the microbial environment surrounding gustatory papillae might play a role in the positive changes of fat taste sensitivity observed in some patients after VSG.</p></sec>