Nutritional Reprogramming of Gut-Organ Axes: Bridging Metabolic Dysfunction and Pre-Malignant Transitions via Host-Microbe Crosstalk

The dynamic interplay between diet, the gut microbiome, and host physiology is a key determinant of metabolic health and reflects a complex form of host–microbe symbiosis. Disruption of this symbiosis by suboptimal dietary patterns drives microbial dysbiosis, contributing to metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Within this symbiotic framework, the gut microbiota acts as a metabolic and signaling hub, transforming dietary substrates into bioactive molecules—including short-chain fatty acids, bile acid derivatives, and other microbial metabolites—that mediate communication along gut–liver, gut–brain, and gut–adipose axes.Beyond metabolic imbalance, impaired microbial symbiosis promotes chronic low-grade inflammation and tissue remodeling, characterized by altered metabolic flux, extracellular matrix changes, and immune dysregulation. These processes may create permissive microenvironments that facilitate the transition from metabolic dysfunction to pre-malignant states. Understanding how diet shapes microbial symbiosis and host responses is therefore central to identifying early intervention points. Nutritional strategies that restore microbial balance and epithelial barrier integrity offer a promising route to re-establish beneficial host–microbe interactions. Emerging approaches, including targeted dietary bioactives and food-derived extracellular nanovesicles, further expand the toolbox for modulating symbiotic functions.This Research Topic aims to advance mechanistic understanding of how nutritional factors regulate host–microbe symbiosis and metabolic crosstalk across gut–organ axes. In particular, we seek to elucidate how diet-driven microbial functions and metabolites influence host physiology, inflammation, and tissue remodeling, and how these interactions may alter the trajectory from metabolic disorders toward pre-malignant transitions. We welcome studies that move beyond descriptive microbiome analyses to functional and causal insights, leveraging approaches such as metabolomics, spatial omics, and gnotobiotic or in vitro models to dissect symbiotic mechanisms.We invite Original Research, Reviews, Methods, and Perspectives that provide mechanistic and functional insights into nutritional modulation of microbial symbiosis. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:o Metabolite-mediated host–microbe interactions: Roles of microbial metabolites (e.g., SCFAs, tryptophan derivatives, bile acids) in signaling across gut–organ axes and regulating host metabolism.o Diet, dysbiosis, and disease progression: Mechanistic links between diet-induced disruption of microbial symbiosis, chronic inflammation, and the emergence of pre-malignant microenvironments.o Nutritional and microbial interventions: Functional foods, precision nutrition, chrononutrition, and novel delivery systems (e.g., food-derived nanovesicles) that restore symbiotic balance.o Model systems and multi-omics approaches: Use of organoids, microbiome-on-a-chip, stable isotope tracing, and integrated omics to map causal pathways in host–microbe interactions. Topic editors: Yu Chen, Yongjian Chen, Li-Da Wu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79761/nutritional-reprogramming-of-gut-organ-axes-bridging-metabolic-dysfunction-and-pre-malignant-transitions-via-host-microbe-crosstalk