1. Epimedium polysaccharides mitigates Porphyromonas gingivalis-exacerbated intestinal inflammation by suppressing the Th17 pathway and modulating the gut microbiota.
- Author
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Li M, Qu R, Li P, Mo X, Liu J, Dong B, Liu L, and Xu ZZ
- Subjects
- Animals, Mice, Inflammation drug therapy, Bacteroidaceae Infections microbiology, Bacteroidaceae Infections drug therapy, Male, Cytokines metabolism, Gastrointestinal Microbiome drug effects, Th17 Cells immunology, Th17 Cells drug effects, Th17 Cells metabolism, Polysaccharides pharmacology, Polysaccharides chemistry, Porphyromonas gingivalis pathogenicity, Epimedium chemistry
- Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the potential alleviating effect of Epimedium polysaccharide (EP) on intestinal inflammation aggravated by Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg). P. gingivalis, an oral pathogen, may play a role in intestinal inflammation, highlighting the necessity to explore substances capable of inhibiting its pathogenicity. Initially, in vitro screening experiments utilizing co-culturing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed that EP significantly inhibited the growth of P. gingivalis and the levels of virulence genes, including Kgp and RgpA. Subsequent mouse experiments demonstrated that EP notably ameliorated Pg-aggravated weight loss, disease activity index, histopathological lesions, and disruption of intestinal barrier integrity, evidenced by a reduction in tight junction protein levels. Flow cytometry analysis further illustrated that EP attenuated Pg-induced Th17 differentiation and Th17-related cytokines, such as IL-17 and IL-6. Additionally, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing analysis elucidated that EP significantly mitigated Pg-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, enriching potentially beneficial microbes, including Akkermansia and Bifidobacterium. The metabolomic analysis provided further insight, indicating that EP intervention altered the accumulation of relevant intestinal metabolites and exhibited correlations with disease indicators. In conclusion, our research suggested that EP holds promise as a prospective therapeutic agent for alleviating P. gingivalis-aggravated intestinal inflammation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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