Protist colonization alters the gut microbiome and accelerates recovery from gut inflammation in the animal model

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62157124%3A16170%2F24%3A43881547" target="_blank" >RIV/62157124:16170/24:43881547 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

—

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

—

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Protist colonization alters the gut microbiome and accelerates recovery from gut inflammation in the animal model

Original language description

Blastocystis sp. is a widespread intestinal protist in humans and animals, but its effects on health and its interactions with the microbiome are not well understood. Although it is occasionally associated with inflammation and gastrointestinal symptoms, there is growing evidence that Blastocystis is commonly found in asymptomatic individuals and is more prevalent in healthy conditions than in diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). This dichotomy underscores the existing knowledge gaps regarding the factors that influence host colonization and the protist&apos;s interactions with the gut microbiome. In our research, we have investigated the effects of Blastocystis ST3 colonization on the immune system and gut bacterial microbiota, both in isolation and in association with chemically induced colitis (via DNBS). We inoculated outbred rats with Blastocystis ST3 and induced colitis after three weeks (shortterm exposure) and three months (long-term exposure) of colonization. We evaluated the intensity of inflammation in the colonized rats compared to control groups and analyzed cytokine gene expression, macroscopic and microscopic observations, clinical data, and changes in the bacterial microbiome. The study found that short-term colonization with Blastocystis ST3 had no effect on gut inflammation after colitis induction. However, long-term colonization appeared to enable faster recovery from colitis in rats.This was evidenced by a significant decrease in inflammatory markers (TNFα, IL-1β) and pathology two days after colitis induction in the colonized group, as well as improved clinical scores. We also investigated for the first time the effects of colonization duration on the gut microbiota and characterized the bacterial community in fecal, colon and caecum samples by next-generation sequencing. Before colitis, colonization with Blastocystis ST3 did not lead to an increase in bacterial diversity. However, two days after colitis, bacterial diversity increased in the long-term colonized group. We observed shifts in the bacterial community due to Blastocystis colonization before and after colitis induction, with the effects increasing over time and after colitis. Our results suggest that Blastocystis ST3 functions primarily as a benign colonizer and bacteriome stabilizer and may support recovery from chemically induced colitis. Funding: This work was financially supported by a grant from the Czech Science Foundation (grant no 22-04837S) to K. Jirků and by grants from the Student Grant Agency (SGA) at the Faculty of Science of the University of SouthBohemia to Z.L. (2018).

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

40301 - Veterinary science

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů