Melatonin prevents the dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota in sleep-restricted mice by improving oxidative stress and inhibiting inflammation

Abstract

Background: Intestinal inflammation caused by sleep restriction (SR) threatens human health. However, radical cure of intestinal inflammatory conditions is considerably difficult. This study focuses on the effect of melatonin on SR-induced intestinal inflammation and microbiota imbalance in mice. Methods: We successfully established a water platform to induce long-term SR in mice for 28 days with or without melatonin supplementation. The SR-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory changes were evaluated in plasma and jejunum tissue samples using in vitro assays. Additionally, changes in the intestinal microbiota were explored using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Results: After 20 h of chronic sleep restriction for 28 consecutive days, plasma melatonin was significantly reduced by 48.91% (P 0.05). Conclusions: Melatonin prevents the dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota in SR mice by improving oxidative stress and inhibiting inflammation. Our results may provide a theoretical basis for conducting clinical research on insufficient sleep leading to intestinal health in humans and hence facilitate a better understanding of the role of melatonin.

Keywords

• intestinal inflammation
• intestinal microbiota
• melatonin
• oxidative stress
• sleep restriction