Exploring the Role of Inulin in Targeting the Gut Microbiota: An Innovative Strategy for Alleviating Colonic Fibrosis Induced By Irradiation

作者：Kaihua Ji, Manman Zhang, Liqing Du, Jinhan Wang, Yang Liu, Chang Xu, Ningning He, Qin Wang, Yeqing Gu, Huijuan Song, Yan Wang, Qiang Liu · 发表于：Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1021/acs.jafc.3c03432 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Effects of Radiation Exposure、Gut microbiota and health、Ginseng Biological Effects and Applications

The use of radiation therapy to treat pelvic and abdominal cancers can lead to the development of either acute or chronic radiation enteropathy. Radiation-induced chronic colonic fibrosis is a common gastrointestinal disorder resulting from the above radiation therapy. In this study, we establish the efficacy of inulin supplements in safeguarding against colonic fibrosis caused by irradiation therapy. Studies have demonstrated that inulin supplements enhance the proliferation of bacteria responsible to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and elevate the levels of SCFAs in feces. In a mouse model of chronic radiation enteropathy, the transplantation of gut microbiota and its metabolites from feces of inulin-treated mice were found to reduce colonic fibrosis in validation experiments. Administering inulin-derived metabolites from gut microbiota led to a notable decrease in the expression of genes linked to fibrosis and collagen production in mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line NIH/3T3. In the cell line, inulin-derived metabolites also suppressed the expression of genes linked to the extracellular matrix synthesis pathway. The results indicate a novel and practical approach to safeguarding against chronic radiation-induced colonic fibrosis.