Karen Ho, MD
Associate Professor, Surgery (Vascular Surgery)
Research Program
Cancer-Focused Research
One specific area of interest is butyrate, a short chain fatty acid produced by gut microbial fermentation of dietary fiber which is an important metabolic substrate in normal colonic epithelial cells and has the ability to prevent/inhibit carcinogenesis. The mechanisms of action of butyrate are varied and involve epigenetic regulation of gene expression through the inhibition of histone deacetylase. Additional mechanisms of action involve G protein coupled receptor signaling involving receptors FFAR2, FFAR3, and GPR109a.