Cross-Talk Between Butyric Acid and Gut Microbiota in Ulcerative Colitis Following Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

Abstract

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) can inhibit the progression of ulcerative colitis (UC). However, how FMT modulates the gut microbiota and which biomarker is valuable for evaluating the efficacy of FMT have not been clarified. This study aimed to determine the changes in the gut microbiota and their relationship with butyric acid following FMT for UC. Fecal microbiota (FM) was isolated from healthy individuals or mice and transplanted into 12 UC patients or colitis mice induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Their clinical colitis severities were monitored. Their gut microbiota were analyzed by 16S sequencing and bioinformatics. The levels of fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from five UC patients with recurrent symptoms after FMT and individual mice were quantified by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). The impact of butyric acid on the abundance and diversity of the gut microbiota was tested in vitro. The effect of the combination of butyric acid-producing bacterium and FMT on the clinical responses of 45 UC patients was retrospectively analyzed. Compared with that in the controls, the FMT significantly increased the abundance of butyric acid-producing bacteria and fecal butyric acid levels in UC patients. The FMT significantly increased the α-diversity, changed gut microbial structure, and elevated fecal butyric acid levels in colitis mice. Anaerobic culture with butyrate significantly increased the α-diversity of the gut microbiota from colitis mice and changed their structure. FMT combination with Clostridium butyricum-containing probiotics significantly prolonged the UC remission in the clinic. Therefore, fecal butyric acid level may be a biomarker for evaluating the efficacy of FMT for UC, and addition of butyrate-producing bacteria may prolong the therapeutic effect of FMT on UC by changing the gut microbiota.

Selection strategy of dextran sulfate sodium-induced acute or chronic colitis mouse models based on gut microbial profile

“…Consistent with our previous studies [ 17 – 20 ], we found that DSS-triggered acute and chronic colitis were similar in terms of disease activity, colon shortening and histopathological changes in the colon, but differed remarkably in terms of gut microbiota profiles. Given that the initiation and progression of UC centers heavily on gut microbiota proportions, the therapeutic potential of fecal microbiota transplantation is increasingly being assessed in UC animal models.…”

“…DSS and 2,4,6-trinitro-benzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) are established agents for inducing acute and chronic colitis [ 17 – 20 ]. In this preliminary study, we found that administration of 3 and 2.5% DSS via drinking water can respectively induce acute and chronic colitis in mice while ensuring their survival.…”

Effect of Polysaccharides From Enteromorpha intestinalis on Intestinal Function in Sprague Dawley Rats

“…SCFAs such as acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid are produced by gut microbiota. Some SCFAs are sources of energy for the intestinal mucosa (Xu et al, 2021). Some of these bacteria can regulate the secretion of goblet cell mucin and mucin-related genes (Caballero-Franco et al, 2007;Dharmani et al, 2011;Sperandio et al, 2013).…”

Gut Microbiota: The Potential Key Target of TCM’s Therapeutic Effect of Treating Different Diseases Using the Same Method—UC and T2DM as Examples

“…Although some proinflammatory bacteria, such as Fusobacterium and Escherichia coli , were enriched, the diversity of the gut microbiota also demonstrated a downward trend ( Pavel et al., 2021 ). Butyrate is a type of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) that plays a protective role in the intestinal barrier and maintains the barrier integrity of epithelial cells by regulating the proliferation and development of intestinal epithelial cells; due to the imbalance of the microbiota structure, the total content of butyrate in the gut of patients with UC also decreases ( Xu et al., 2021b ). In people with T2DM, there are certain similarities in gut-microbiota changes.…”

“…In people with T2DM, there are certain similarities in gut-microbiota changes. The abundance of some beneficial bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium , Bacteroides , Roseburia , Faecalibacterium , and Akkermansia , showed a downward trend ( Xu et al., 2021b ). However, numerous other opportunistic pathogens showed an upward trend ( Qin et al., 2012 ).…”