Commensal E. coli stabilizes HIF in intestinal epithelium via aerobic respiration in vitro and in vivo (microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com)

• Commensal E. coli stabilizes HIF-1α in intestinal epithelial cells in vitro, dependent on aerobic respiration.
• Genetic deletion of bacterial terminal oxidases (3KO, 4KO mutants) abolishes HIF stabilization.
• In vivo mouse model confirms HIF stabilization only with wild-type E. coli, not respiration-deficient strains.

"A study published in Microbiome shows that nonpathogenic commensal E. coli strains stabilize hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) in intestinal epithelial cells, dependent on bacterial aerobic respiration. Genetic elimination of respiration in E. coli abolished HIF stabilization and subsequent pro-barrier transcriptional activity. In vivo, antibiotic-treated mice colonized with wild-type E. coli showed tissue HIF-1α stabilization, while respiration-deficient strains did not. The findings suggest commensal facultative anaerobes contribute to intestinal homeostasis via HIF activation, with potential therapeutic implications for inflammatory bowel disease."