The concept of small-molecule mimicry even of weak microbial metabolites present in rodents and humans, as a means to expand drug repertoires, is new. Hitherto, there are few proof-of-concept papers demonstrating utility of this concept. More recently, papers demonstrating mimicry of intestinal microbial metabolites could expand the drug repertoire for diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We opine that, as more functional metabolite-receptor pairings are discovered, small-molecule metabolite mimicry could be a significant effort in drug discovery.

Department of Cell Biology and Genetics Palacký University Olomouc 78371 Czech Republic

Department of Molecular Pharmacology Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx NY 10461 USA; Department of Genetics Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx NY 10461 USA; Department of Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx NY 10461 USA

Helmholtz Center for Infection Research GmbH Inhoffenstrasse 738124 Braunschweig Germany; Department of Microbial Natural Products Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland Partner Site Hannover Braunschweig Germany

Sorbonne Université Inserm Centre de Recherche Saint Antoine CRSA AP HP Hôpital Saint Antoine Service de Gastroenterologie F 75012 Paris France; INRA UMR1319 Micalis and AgroParisTech Jouy en Josas 78352 France; Paris Centre for Microbiome Medicine FHU Paris France

St Edmund's College Shillong Old Jowai Road Shillong Meghalaya 793003 India

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Microbial Metabolites as Ligands to Xenobiotic Receptors: Chemical Mimicry as Potential Drugs of the Future