Project description:Opioids such as morphine have many beneficial properties as analgesics, however, opioids may induce multiple adverse gastrointestinal symptoms. We have recently demonstrated that morphine treatment results in significant disruption in gut barrier function leading to increased translocation of gut commensal bacteria. However, it is unclear how opioids modulate the gut homeostasis. By using a mouse model of morphine treatment, we studied effects of morphine treatment on gut microbiome. We characterized phylogenetic profiles of gut microbes, and found a significant shift in the gut microbiome and increase of pathogenic bacteria following morphine treatment when compared to placebo. In the present study, wild type mice (C57BL/6J) were implanted with placebo, morphine pellets subcutaneously. Fecal matter were taken for bacterial 16s rDNA sequencing analysis at day 3 post treatment. A scatter plot based on an unweighted UniFrac distance matrics obtained from the sequences at OTU level with 97% similarity showed a distinct clustering of the community composition between the morphine and placebo treated groups. By using the chao1 index to evaluate alpha diversity (that is diversity within a group) and using unweighted UniFrac distance to evaluate beta diversity (that is diversity between groups, comparing microbial community based on compositional structures), we found that morphine treatment results in a significant decrease in alpha diversity and shift in fecal microbiome at day 3 post treatment compared to placebo treatment. Taxonomical analysis showed that morphine treatment results in a significant increase of potential pathogenic bacteria. Our study shed light on effects of morphine on the gut microbiome, and its role in the gut homeostasis.
Project description:In rodents, brown adipose tissue (BAT) contributes to whole body energy expenditure and low BAT activity is related to hepatic fat accumulation, partially attributable to the gut microbiome. Little is known of these relationships in humans. In adults (n=60), we assessed hepatic fat and cold-stimulated BAT activity utilizing magnetic resonance imaging and the gut microbiome with 16S sequencing. We transplanted gnotobiotic mice with feces from humans to assess the transferability of BAT activity and NAFLD through the microbiome. Individuals with NAFLD (n=29) had lower BAT activity than those without and BAT activity was inversely related to hepatic fat. Although the fecal microbiome was different in those with NAFLD, no differences were observed in relation to BAT activity and neither of these phenotypic traits were transmissible through fecal transplant to gnotobiotic mice. Thus, low BAT activity is associated with hepatic steatosis but this is not mediated through the gut microbiota.
Project description:Background: The possible impact of changes in diet composition for the intestinal microbiome is mostly studied after some days of adaptation to the diet of interest. The question arises if few days are enough to reflect the microbial response to the diet by changing the community composition and function. The present study investigated the fecal microbiome of pigs in a time span of four weeks after a dietary change to get an insight of the needed adaptation period. Four different diets were used differing in either protein source (field peas meal vs. soybean meal) or the concentration of calcium and phosphorus (CaP). Results: Twelve pigs were sampled at seven time points within four weeks after the dietary change. Fecal samples were used to sequence the 16S rDNA amplicons, to analyse the microbial proteins via LC-MS/MS and to determine the SCFA production. The analysis of OTU abundances and quantification values of proteins showed a significant separation of three periods of time (p=0.001). Samples from the first day are used to define the ‘Zero phase’, samples of weeks one and two are combined as ‘metabolic phase’ and an ‘equilibrium phase’ was defined based on samples from week three and four. Only in this last phase, a separation according to the supplementation of CaP was significantly detectable (p=0.001). No changes were found based on the corn-soybean meal or corn-field peas administration. The analysis of possible factors causing this significant separation showed only an overall change of bacterial members and functional properties. The metaproteomic approach yields a total of about 9700 proteins, which were used to deduce possible metabolic functions of the bacterialcommunity.