Comprehensive Analysis of Fecal Microbiome and Metabolomics in Hepatic Fibrosis Rats Reveal Hepatoprotective Effects of Yinchen Wuling Powder From the Host-Microbial Metabolic Axis

作者：Yumeng Zhang, Min Zhao, Xue Jiang, Qiaoyu Qiao, Tingting Liu, Chunjie Zhao, Miao Wang · 发表于：Frontiers in Pharmacology · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.3389/fphar.2021.713197 · 被引用次数：35 · 研究领域：Gut microbiota and health、Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment、Pancreatic and Hepatic Oncology Research

Hepatic fibrosis (HF) is a typical consequence in the development of multiple chronic liver diseases, which is intimately related to the composition and metabolic status of gut microbiota. A myriad of evidence has indicated that traditional Chinese medicine can treat HF by regulating gut microbiota. Yinchen Wuling powder (YCWLP) is a famous traditional Chinese medicine prescription, which has been used to relieve liver diseases for thousands of years. YCWLP has demonstrated protective function on HF, but its effect on the alterations of gut microbiota is still unclear, and its explicit therapeutic mechanism also needs to be further elucidated. In this study, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and fecal metabolomics analysis were combined to investigate the influence of YCWLP on gut microbiota in HF rats and the interactions between gut microbiota and host metabolism. The results showed that YCWLP treatment significantly improved the disorder of multiple organ indices, HF-related cytokines and plasma LPS induced by HF. Masson’s trichrome stainings also showed that YCWLP treatment could significantly alleviate the severity of HF in rats. Additionally, YCWLP could reverse the significant changes in the abundance of certain genera closely related to HF phenotype, including Barnesiella [ Ruminococcus ] and Christensenella . Meanwhile, YCWLP significantly increased the abundance of Bifidobacterium , Coprococcus and Anaerostipes , which are closely related to butyrate production. Metabolomics...