Despite decades of bile acid research, diverse biological roles for bile acids have been discovered recently due to developments in understanding the human microbiota. As additional bacterial enzymes are characterized, and the tools used for identifying new bile acids become increasingly more sensitive, the repertoire of bile acids metabolized and/or synthesized by bacteria continues to grow. Additionally, bile acids impact microbiome community structure and function. In this Review, we highlight how the bile acid pool is manipulated by the gut microbiota, how it is dependent on the metabolic capacity of the bacterial community and how external factors, such as antibiotics and diet, shape bile acid composition. It is increasingly important to understand how bile acid signalling networks are affected in distinct organs where the bile acid composition differs, and how these networks impact infectious, metabolic and neoplastic diseases. These advances have enabled the development of therapeutics that target imbalances in microbiota-associated bile acid profiles.

尽管胆汁酸研究已有数十年，但由于对人类微生物群了解的进展，最近发现了胆汁酸的多种生物学作用。随着其他细菌酶的表征，以及用于识别新胆汁酸的工具变得越来越敏感，细菌代谢和/或合成的胆汁酸的种类不断增加。此外，胆汁酸影响微生物群落的结构和功能。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了肠道微生物群如何操纵胆汁酸库、它如何依赖于细菌群落的代谢能力以及抗生素和饮食等外部因素如何影响胆汁酸的组成。了解胆汁酸信号网络如何在胆汁酸成分不同的不同器官中受到影响，以及这些网络如何影响传染病、代谢和肿瘤疾病变得越来越重要。这些进步使得针对微生物群相关胆汁酸分布失衡的治疗方法得以开发。