Department of Nutrition, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
Department of Pathogen Biology, Medical College of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2024 Nov 4;18(11):e0012645. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012645. eCollection 2024 Nov.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) increases the risk of colorectal cancer, and it has the potential to diminish the quality of life. Clinical and experimental evidence demonstrate protective aspects of parasitic helminth infection against IBD. However, studies on the inhibition of inflammation by helminth infection have overlooked a key determinant of health: the gut microbiota. Although infection with helminths induces alterations in the host microbiota composition, the potential influence and mechanism of helminth infections induced changes in the gut microbiota on the development of IBD has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we analyzed the intersection of helminth Trichinella spiralis and gut bacteria in the regulation of colitis and related mechanisms.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: T. spiralis infected mice were treated with antibiotics or cohoused with wild type mice, then challenged with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-colitis and disease severity, immune responses and goblet cells assessed. Gut bacteria composition was assessed by 16S rRNA sequencing and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were measured. We found that protection against disease by infection with T. spiralis was abrogated by antibiotic treatment, and cohousing with T. spiralis- infected mice suppressed DSS-colitis in wild type mice. Bacterial community profiling revealed an increase in the abundance of the bacterial genus Muribaculum and unclassified_Muribaculaceae in mice with T. spiralis infection or mice cohoused with T. spiralis- infected mice. Metabolomic analysis demonstrated significantly increased propionic acid in feces from T. spiralis- infected mice. Data also showed that the gut microbiome modulated by T. spiralis exhibited enhanced goblet cell differentiation and elevated IL-10 levels in mice.
These findings identify the gut microbiome as a critical component of the anti- colitic effect of T. spiralis and gives beneficial insights into the processes by which helminth alleviates colitis.
炎症性肠病（IBD）会增加结直肠癌的风险，并且有可能降低生活质量。临床和实验证据表明寄生虫蠕虫感染对 IBD 具有保护作用。然而，关于蠕虫感染抑制炎症的研究忽略了一个关键的健康决定因素：肠道微生物群。尽管蠕虫感染会改变宿主微生物群的组成，但蠕虫感染引起的肠道微生物群变化对 IBD 发展的潜在影响和机制尚未阐明。在这项研究中，我们分析了寄生虫旋毛虫和肠道细菌在调节结肠炎中的相互作用及其相关机制。
方法/主要发现：用抗生素处理感染旋毛虫的小鼠，或让其与野生型小鼠共住，然后用葡聚糖硫酸钠（DSS）-结肠炎和疾病严重程度、免疫反应和杯状细胞进行评估。通过 16S rRNA 测序评估肠道细菌组成，并测量短链脂肪酸（SCFA）。我们发现，感染旋毛虫对疾病的保护作用被抗生素治疗所阻断，与感染旋毛虫的小鼠共住可抑制野生型小鼠的 DSS-结肠炎。细菌群落分析显示，感染旋毛虫的小鼠肠道中 Muribaculum 属和未分类的 Muribaculaceae 的丰度增加。代谢组学分析表明，感染旋毛虫的小鼠粪便中丙酸含量显著增加。数据还表明，旋毛虫调节的肠道微生物群表现出增强的杯状细胞分化和小鼠中 IL-10 水平升高。
这些发现将肠道微生物群确定为旋毛虫抗结肠炎作用的关键组成部分，并为了解寄生虫减轻结肠炎的过程提供了有益的见解。
