Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity (May 2023)
Comprehensive Study of Untargeted Metabolomics and 16S rRNA Reveals the Mechanism of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Improving a Mouse Model of T2D
Abstract
Wensu Yang,1,2 Zhaoxin Xia,1,2 Yi Zhu,1,2 Hao Tang,1,2 Huaming Xu,1,2 Xinyi Hu,1,2 Chunhui Lin,1,2 Tong Jiang,1,2 Pei He,1,2 Jilu Shen1,2 1The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 23001, People’s Republic of China; 2Anhui Public Health Clinical Center Hefei, Anhui, 230012, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jilu Shen, Tel +86-15155152963, Email [email protected]: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has emerged as a new therapy targeting gastrointestinal microbiota for the treatment of a growing number of diseases in recent years. Previous studies have suggested that FMT may be a potential therapy for type 2 diabetes (T2D), but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to investigate the role of FMT in T2D and its underlying mechanisms.Methods: To induce T2D, mice were fed a high-fat diet and injected with low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) for four weeks. The mice were then randomly divided into four groups: control group (n = 7), T2D group (n = 7), metformin (MET)-treated group (n = 7), and FMT group (n = 7). The MET group was orally administered 0.2 g/kg MET, the FMT group was orally administered 0.3 mL of bacterial solution, and the other two groups were orally administered the same volume of saline for four weeks. Serum and fecal samples were collected for non-targeted metabolomics, biochemical indicators, and 16S rRNA sequencing, respectively.Results: Our results demonstrated that FMT had a curative effect on T2D by ameliorating hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia. Using 16S rRNA sequencing and serum untargeted metabolomic analysis, we found that FMT could restore the disorders of gastrointestinal microbiota in T2D mice. Moreover, corticosterone, progesterone, L-urobilin, and other molecules were identified as biomarkers after FMT treatment. Our bioinformatics analysis suggested that steroid hormone biosynthesis, arginine, proline metabolism, and unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis could be potential regulatory mechanisms of FMT.Conclusion: In summary, our study provides comprehensive evidence for the role of FMT in the treatment of T2D. FMT has the potential to become a promising strategy for the treatment of metabolic disorders, T2D, and diabetes-related complications.Keywords: type 2 diabetes, fecal microbiota transplantation, gastrointestinal microbiota, untargeted metabolomics, 16S rRNA, corticosterone
