Integration of microbiome, metabolomics and transcriptome for in-depth understanding of berberine attenuates AOM/DSS-induced colitis-associated colorectal cancer

作者：Mengxia Wang, Yan Ma, Guodong Yu, Zeng Bao, Wenhao Yang, Cuihong Huang, Yujuan Dong, Ben-Qin Tang, Zhengzhi Wu · 发表于：Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.biopha.2024.117292 · 被引用次数：28 · 研究领域：Berberine and alkaloids research、Gut microbiota and health、Ginseng Biological Effects and Applications

A type of colorectal cancer (CRC)，Colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC)， is closely associated with chronic inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Berberine (BBR) has a long history in the treatment of intestinal diseases, which has been reported to inhibit colitis and CRC. However, the mechanism of its action is still unclear. Here, this study aimed to explore the potential protective effects of BBR on azoxymethane (AOM)/dextransulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and tumor mice, and to elucidate its potential molecular mechanisms by microbiota, genes and metabolic alterations. The results showed that BBR inhibited the gut inflammation and improved the function of mucosal barrier to ameliorate AOM/DSS-induced colitis. And BBR treatment significantly reduced intestinal tumor development and ki-67 expression of intestinal tissue along with promoted apoptosis. Through microbiota analysis based on the 16 S rRNA gene, we found that BBR treatment improved intestinal microbiota imbalance in AOM/DSS-induced colitis and tumor mice, which were characterized by an increase of beneficial bacteria, for instance Akkermanisa, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides uniformis and Bacteroides acidifaciens. In addition, transcriptome analysis showed that BBR regulated colonic epithelial signaling pathway in CAC mice particularly by tryptophan metabolism and Wnt signaling pathway. Notably, BBR treatment resulted in the enrichment of amino acids metabolism and microbiota-derived SCFA metabolites. I...