BL-RQ-002 · Open
Is stool short-chain fatty acid concentration interpretable as a measure of colonocyte fuel supply?
Many commercial reports present stool SCFA as a functional readout. Concentration reflects production minus absorption, so the direction of a low value is ambiguous.
Relation to the Host Capacity Model
HCM uses fuel availability as a pillar; if the common measurement cannot index it, the pillar is currently unmeasurable in practice.
Measurements required to answer it
- Stool SCFA concentration
- An independent absorption or flux measure
Confounders
- Transit time
- Sample handling and storage
- Recent diet
Decision criteria
Paired concentration and flux measurements in the same individuals showing whether concentration tracks supply.
What would count against the Host Capacity Model
Stool concentration is shown to track colonocyte supply reliably, making the measurement caveat unnecessary.
Registered claims this question bears on
- BL-CLAIM-COL-001 · Established biology
Colonocytes use butyrate as a major respiratory substrate, oxidising it in mitochondria for ATP.
Entities
- Butyrate — A four-carbon short-chain fatty acid produced by bacterial fermentation of fibre in the colon and used as a primary respiratory fuel by colonocytes.
- Faecal short-chain fatty acids — Stool concentrations of acetate, propionate, and butyrate. Represent the balance of production and absorption, so low values cannot be read as low production.
Cite this question
Attallah, M. BL-RQ-002: Is stool short-chain fatty acid concentration interpretable as a measure of colonocyte fuel supply? BiomeLogic research question registry. https://biomelogic.net/research-questions/BL-RQ-002
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