Zhang Yunfei, Si Lulu, Shu Xiangli, Qiu Congrui, Wan Xianhua, Li Haiyan, Ma Shijie, Jin Xiaohui, Wei Zhanyong, Hu Hui
College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450046, People's Republic of China.
College of Sport, Yan'an University, Yanan, 716000, People's Republic of China.
Microbiome. 2025 Apr 7;13(1):93. doi: 10.1186/s40168-025-02092-z.
Gut microbiota plays a critical role in counteracting enteric viral infection. Our previous study demonstrated that infection of porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) disturbs gut microbiota and causes intestinal damage and inflammation in piglets. However, the influence of gut microbiota on PDCoV infection remains unclear.
Firstly, the relationship between gut microbiota and disease severity of PDCoV infection was evaluated using 8-day-old and 90-day-old pigs. The composition of gut microbiota was significantly altered in 8-day-old piglets after PDCoV infection, leading to severe diarrhea and intestinal damage. In contrast, PDCoV infection barely affected the 90-day-old pigs. Moreover, the diversity (richness and evenness) of microbiota in 90-day-old pigs was much higher compared to the 8-day-old piglets, suggesting the gut microbiota is possibly associated with the severity of PDCoV infection. Subsequently, transplanting the fecal microbiota from the 90-day-old pigs to the 3-day-old piglets alleviated clinical signs of PDCoV infection, modulated the diversity and composition of gut microbiota, and maintained the physical and chemical barrier of intestines. Additionally, metabolomic analysis revealed that the fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) treatment upregulated the swine intestinal arginine biosynthesis, FMT significantly inhibited the inflammatory response in piglet intestine by modulating the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway.
PDCoV infection altered the structure and composition of the gut microbiota in neonatal pigs. FMT treatment mitigated the clinical signs of PDCoV infection in the piglets by modulating the gut microbiota composition and intestinal barrier, downregulating the inflammatory response. The preventive effect of FMT provides novel targets for the development of therapeutics against enteropathogenic coronaviruses. Video Abstract.
肠道微生物群在抵抗肠道病毒感染中起关键作用。我们之前的研究表明，猪德尔塔冠状病毒（PDCoV）感染会扰乱肠道微生物群，并导致仔猪肠道损伤和炎症。然而，肠道微生物群对PDCoV感染的影响仍不清楚。
首先，使用8日龄和90日龄的猪评估肠道微生物群与PDCoV感染疾病严重程度之间的关系。PDCoV感染后，8日龄仔猪的肠道微生物群组成发生显著变化，导致严重腹泻和肠道损伤。相比之下，PDCoV感染对90日龄的猪几乎没有影响。此外，90日龄猪的微生物群多样性（丰富度和均匀度）比8日龄仔猪高得多，这表明肠道微生物群可能与PDCoV感染的严重程度有关。随后，将90日龄猪的粪便微生物群移植到3日龄仔猪体内，减轻了PDCoV感染的临床症状，调节了肠道微生物群的多样性和组成，并维持了肠道的物理和化学屏障。此外，代谢组学分析表明，粪便微生物群移植（FMT）治疗上调了猪肠道精氨酸生物合成，FMT通过调节TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB信号通路显著抑制了仔猪肠道的炎症反应。
PDCoV感染改变了新生仔猪肠道微生物群的结构和组成。FMT治疗通过调节肠道微生物群组成和肠道屏障、下调炎症反应，减轻了仔猪PDCoV感染的临床症状。FMT的预防作用为开发针对肠道致病性冠状病毒的治疗方法提供了新的靶点。视频摘要。
