Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program.
Department of Environmental Health Science, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602.
Toxicol Sci. 2018 Aug 1;164(2):453-464. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfy102.
In this study, male F344 rats were orally exposed to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) at 0, 5, 25, and 75 μg/kg for 4 weeks. Rat feces were collected from 2 to 4 weeks following exposure and were assessed for gut-microbiota-dependent metabolites. Gut-microbiota-related organic acids were quantitated in the feces using 2-nitrophenylhydrazine derivatization coupled HPLC-profiling method which was validated and showed good reliability, accuracy and sensitivity. After 2-week exposure, AFB1 significantly reduced the levels of fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) with an over 70% reduction in the high-dose group (75 μg/kg). Mixed-effects model revealed an inverse correlation between AFB1 dose and fecal levels of SCFAs, but no significant time effect was found. When compared with the control, oral exposure to middle-dose AFB1 (25 μg/kg) resulted in remarkable elevations of fecal cholic acid (2.18-fold), linoleic acid (cis-9, cis-12-18:2) (11.3-fold), pentadecanoic acid (15: 0) (3.68-fold), pyruvic acid (4.56-fold), and 3-phenyllactic acid (3.74-fold), but deoxycholic acid level was reduced by 41% in the low-dose group (5 μg/kg). These results demonstrated the disruptions of several important gut-microbiota metabolic pathways, including the synthesis of SCFAs, pyruvic acid related pathways, metabolisms of amino acids, bile acids and long-chain fatty acids, which may further affect host digestive efficiency, energy supply, intestinal immunity, production of neurotransmitters, and enterohepatic cross-talk. Our study suggests that the impairment of gut-microbiota-dependent metabolism may contribute to pathological mechanisms of AFB1-induced adverse health effects.
在这项研究中,雄性 F344 大鼠经口暴露于黄曲霉毒素 B1(AFB1),剂量分别为 0、5、25 和 75μg/kg,为期 4 周。暴露后 2 至 4 周收集大鼠粪便,并评估肠道微生物群依赖性代谢物。使用 2-硝基苯肼衍生化结合 HPLC 分析方法定量粪便中与肠道微生物群相关的有机酸,该方法经过验证,具有良好的可靠性、准确性和灵敏度。在 2 周暴露后,AFB1 显著降低了粪便短链脂肪酸(SCFA)的水平,高剂量组(75μg/kg)降低了 70%以上。混合效应模型显示 AFB1 剂量与粪便 SCFA 水平呈负相关,但未发现显著的时间效应。与对照组相比,中剂量 AFB1(25μg/kg)暴露使粪便胆酸(2.18 倍)、亚油酸(顺-9,顺-12-18:2)(11.3 倍)、十五烷酸(15:0)(3.68 倍)、丙酮酸(4.56 倍)和 3-苯乳酸(3.74 倍)显著升高,而低剂量组(5μg/kg)脱氧胆酸水平降低了 41%。这些结果表明,一些重要的肠道微生物群代谢途径受到干扰,包括 SCFA、丙酮酸相关途径、氨基酸代谢、胆汁酸和长链脂肪酸代谢,这可能进一步影响宿主的消化效率、能量供应、肠道免疫、神经递质的产生和肠肝交叉对话。我们的研究表明,肠道微生物群依赖性代谢的损害可能导致 AFB1 诱导的不良健康影响的病理机制。