Exercise training modifies gut microbiota with attenuated host responses to sepsis in wild‐type mice

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of exercise preconditioning‐induced modification in gut microbiota composition and host responses to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)‐induced sepsis. Four‐week‐old C57BL/6N male mice were randomly assigned to either CLP (n = 30) or CLP‐exercise (CLP+Exe; n = 30) groups. Prior to CLP‐induced sepsis, the CLP+Exe mice were subjected to 8 wk of treadmill running. Fecal samples were collected and analyzed by 16S rRNA amplification sequencing to assess gut microbiota composition. Diversity analyses such as principal coordinates analysis and rarefaction curves showed that exercise preconditioning was associated with differences in gut microbiota community structure and species richness. Exercise preconditioning‐induced differences in gut microbiota composition were also evident at the family level of taxonomic analysis, with the dominant phyla being Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia, and, to a lesser extent, Cyanobacteria. Compared with control mice, preconditioned mice had a higher survival rate and less organ damage during the acute phase of sepsis, secondary to attenuation of the host response to septic shock. The current findings suggest that exercise preconditioning‐induced modification in gut microbiota composition may lead to an attenuated host response to CLP‐induced sepsis in wild‐type mice, as shown by increased survival and less organ damage, as well as the establishment of a balance between pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory responses.—Kim, D., Kang, H. Exercise training modifies gut microbiota with attenuated host responses to sepsis in wild‐type mice. FASEB J. 33, 5772–5781 (2019). http://www.fasebj.org

Exercise Preconditioning Attenuates the Response to Experimental Colitis and Modifies Composition of Gut Microbiota in Wild-Type Mice

“…In addition, exercise training-induced enhancement of the immune system was observed in both animals [ 19 ] and humans [ 20 ] with exaggerated or chronic inflammation. In particular, exercise training-induced symbiotic modifications in gut microbiota have been found in animal models of inflammatory disease models, such as colon cancer and IBD [ 21 ], ulcerative colitis [ 22 ], HF-induced obesity [ 23 ], and sepsis [ 24 ].…”

The gut microbiome’s role in the development, maintenance, and outcomes of sepsis

“…For example, in a mouse model of Streptococcus pneumoniae sepsis, pre-treatment with oral antibiotics prior to sepsis onset was associated with lower levels of lung TNF-α, a pro-inflammatory cytokine [25], whereas others have shown the opposite effect of gut microbiome depletion on TNF-α [21,22,[37][38][39]. Despite differences in specific cytokine expression between studies, the overall effect of alteration of normal gut microbiome structure prior to sepsis onset appears to be a more robust inflammatory response to sepsis [21,22,25,[37][38][39][40][41].…”

Association between physical activity and changes in intestinal microbiota composition: A systematic review

“…It is still unclear whether an active lifestyle, a healthy diet, or a combination of both can influence intestinal microbiota towards a healthy state. Animal models have allowed researchers to develop physiological and biochemical protocols [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] to explore the functional effects of exercise on the microbiome [37,39,40], and cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have tried to describe the effects of physical activity on the microbiome composition of active versus non-active adult humans. The heterogeneity of methodological approaches and the lack of standardized criteria for active/non-active people is one of the largest challenges in this research field.…”