Fan Siyuan, Cai Xinyue, Cui Wenbo, Ma Peisen, Wu Meiling, Guo Jing, Zhang Yipeng, Xuan Kun, Li Zihan
State Key Laboratory of Oral & Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Disease, Department of Preventive Dentistry, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China.
Faculty of Medicine and Health University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Sydney, Australia.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2025 Jun 30;767:151917. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2025.151917. Epub 2025 Apr 28.
Water scarcity exerts profound physiological impacts, yet its effects on intestinal microbiota-barrier crosstalk remain poorly understood. This study investigates water-deprivation-induced gut dysbiosis and identifies Bacteroides acidifaciens (B.acidifaciens) as a critical mediator of epithelial barrier resilience. Using a murine model of graded water restriction, we observed colon shortening, villus atrophy, goblet cell loss, and barrier disruption correlated with water-deprivation severity. Oral supplementation of B.acidifaciens restored colonic architecture, enhanced mucin secretion, and ameliorated barrier dysfunction in water-deprived mice. Mechanistically, B.acidifaciens maintained barrier homeostasis by directly stimulating mucus production in intestinal epithelial cells and upregulating the expression of tight junction proteins. These findings establish B.acidifaciens as a critical species in mitigating water-deprivation-induced colon injury and advance our understanding of microbiota-directed interventions for dehydration-associated gastrointestinal disorders.
水资源短缺会产生深远的生理影响，但其对肠道微生物群与屏障之间相互作用的影响仍知之甚少。本研究调查了缺水诱导的肠道生态失调，并确定嗜酸拟杆菌（B. acidifaciens）是上皮屏障恢复力的关键调节因子。使用分级限水的小鼠模型，我们观察到结肠缩短、绒毛萎缩、杯状细胞丢失以及屏障破坏与缺水严重程度相关。口服补充嗜酸拟杆菌可恢复缺水小鼠的结肠结构，增强粘蛋白分泌，并改善屏障功能障碍。从机制上讲，嗜酸拟杆菌通过直接刺激肠道上皮细胞产生黏液并上调紧密连接蛋白的表达来维持屏障稳态。这些发现确立了嗜酸拟杆菌在减轻缺水诱导的结肠损伤中的关键作用，并推进了我们对针对脱水相关胃肠道疾病的微生物群导向干预措施的理解。
