Hungatella hathewayi is a Gram-positive, obligate anaerobic bacterium within the Firmicutes phylum (family Clostridiaceae) that has rapidly emerged as a cancer-associated pathobiont. A relatively newly described genus (reclassified from Clostridium hathewayi), it is now recognized as one of the most consistently enriched taxa across colorectal cancer and breast cancer microbiome studies.
TMA/TMAO Production
- H. hathewayi produces trimethylamine (TMA) from dietary choline, L-carnitine, and betaine.
- TMA is oxidized to trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in the liver by flavin monooxygenase 3 (FMO3).
- TMAO is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, and thrombosis.
- This metabolic pathway connects Hungatella to both cancer and cardiovascular risk through a shared dietary-microbial-metabolite axis.
Colorectal Cancer Associations
H. hathewayi is a core member of the CRC-associated microbiome signature:
- Enriched in both old-onset and young-onset CRC alongside parvimonas micra, Clostridium symbiosum, and Peptostreptococcus stomatis [qin 2024 consistent microbiome signatures old young onset crc].
- Correlated with sessile serrated adenoma-associated viral OTUs in virome-bacteria network analyses, suggesting involvement from premalignant stages [zhang 2025 gut virome premalignant colorectal adenoma].
- Its enrichment across geographically diverse CRC cohorts supports a biologically meaningful role rather than confounding by population structure.
Breast Cancer Associations
- Enriched in newly diagnosed, treatment-naive breast cancer patients (38% prevalence vs. 9% in controls) [altinok dindar 2023 gut microbiota breast cancer diet].
- Hungatella-positive participants had distinct dietary patterns: lower dairy intake and higher total vegetable intake, suggesting dietary substrate availability influences its abundance.
- Co-enriched with Acidaminococcus and Tyzzerella as part of the breast cancer-associated gut microbiome signature.
- The TMAO pathway connecting Hungatella to metal toxicity and cardiovascular risk also implicates it in cancer-associated metabolic rewiring.
Cardiovascular Disease Links
- Enriched in some heart failure cohorts alongside Prevotella and Succinclasticum [rahman 2022 gut microbiota cvd therapeutic regulation].
- TMA/TMAO production provides a mechanistic link between Hungatella abundance and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
- Dietary choline and L-carnitine intake modulates the substrate pool for TMA production.
Multiple Sclerosis
- Increased in MS patients alongside Blautia and Eggerthella, in the context of altered bacterial-fungal interaction networks [yadav 2022 ms gut mycobiome fungal bacterial].
- Its enrichment in MS adds to a pattern of cancer-associated taxa appearing in neuroinflammatory conditions.
Dietary Modulation
- Hungatella abundance is influenced by dietary substrate availability for TMA production.
- High-choline, high-carnitine diets (red meat, eggs) may promote expansion.
- The dietary association in breast cancer patients suggests that plant-based dietary patterns may paradoxically support Hungatella through alternative substrate pathways.
Connections
- colorectal cancer -- core member of the cross-cohort CRC microbiome signature
- breast cancer -- enriched in treatment-naive BCa patients
- cardiovascular disease -- TMA/TMAO production links gut metabolism to atherosclerosis
- parvimonas -- co-enriched CRC pathobiont in oral-gut translocation consortium
- multiple sclerosis -- enriched in MS alongside altered mycobiome interactions
- dysbiosis -- enrichment reflects disease-associated community restructuring
- metal toxicity -- TMAO pathway intersects with metal-associated metabolic perturbation