Cocultivation of Chinese prescription and intestine microbiota: SJZD alleviated the major symptoms of IBS-D subjects by tuning neurotransmitter metabolism

Abstract

ObjectiveDiarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) is a recurrent and common disease featuring dysbiotic intestinal microbiota, with limited treatments. Si-Jun-Zi Decoction (SJZD), a classic Chinese prescription, has been extensively used for IBS-D. This work aimed to explore the ex vivo interactions of SJZD and IBS-D’s intestinal microbiota.MethodsFive samples of intestinal microbiota collected from IBS-D volunteers and five age-matched healthy controls were recruited from the Affiliated Hospital, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). A representative mixture of intestinal microbiota was composed of an equal proportion of these fecal samples. To simulate the clinical interaction, this microbiota was cocultivated with SJZD at clinical dosage in an anaerobic incubator at 37°C for 35 h. Microbiota and metabolic alterations were assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing in the V3/V4 regions and a nontargeted metabolome platform, respectively.ResultsAfter being cocultivated with SJZD, the dysbiotic intestine microbiota from IBS-D subjects was largely restored to those of the healthy controls. A total of 624 differentially expressed metabolites were detected by nontargeted metabolomics, of which 16 biomarkers were identified. These metabolites were then enriched into 11 pathways by KEGG, particularly those involved in neurotransmitter metabolism responses for the major symptom of IBS-D. Correlation analysis of bacterial metabolites demonstrated a synergistic pattern of neurotransmitter metabolism between Streptococcus and E. Shigella.ConclusionSJZD rescued the dysbiotic intestinal microbiota and ameliorated the dysfunctional neurotransmitter metabolism involved in IBS-D’s major symptoms.

Fecal Microbial Composition and Predicted Functional Profile in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Differ between Subtypes and Geographical Locations

“…Another study reported that the abundance of Streptococcus in the mucosa-associated microbiota is relatively high in Japanese patients with IBS-C [45]. Later, Xia et al [46] suggested a synergistic pattern of neurotransmitter metabolism between Streptococcus and Shigella, a member of the family Enterobacteriaceae, in patients with IBS-D. An exploration of gutMGene [47] showed that members of this taxon are negatively correlated with the expression of several chemokine genes, some of which have reported antimicrobial properties, a phenomenon that may also partly explain differences in Streptococcus abundance. Streptococcus deserves attention in IBS and perhaps other digestive ailments.…”