D-galactose protects the intestine from ionizing radiation-induced injury by altering the gut microbiome

• Published in: Journal of radiation research Vol. 63; no. 6; pp. 805 - 816
• Main Authors: Zhu, Tong, Wang, Zhouxuan, He, Junbo, Zhang, Xueying, Zhu, Changchun, Zhang, Shuqin, Li, Yuan, Fan, Saijun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.11.2022
• Subjects: Animals; Body weight; Galactose; Gut microbiota; Health aspects; Intestine; Ionizing radiation; Male; Metabolites; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Microorganisms; Radiation; Radiation effects; Radiation Injuries; Radiation, Ionizing; Recovery; Recovery (Medical); Regular paper; Survival; China; Radiation injury; D-galactose (D-gal); gut microbiota; fecal microbiota transplantation
• ISSN: 0449-3060; 1349-9157; 1349-9157
• DOI: 10.1093/jrr/rrac059

This article aims to investigate the protection of the intestine from ionizing radiation-induced injury by using D-galactose (D-gal) to alter the gut microbiome. In addition, this observation opens up further lines of research to further increase therapeutic potentials. Male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 7.5 Gy of total body irradiation (TBI) or 13 Gy of total abdominal irradiation (TAI) in this study. After adjustment, D-gal was intraperitoneally injected into mice at a dose of 750 mg/kg/day. Survival rates, body weights, histological experiments and the level of the inflammatory factor IL-1β were observed after TBI to investigate radiation injury in mice. Feces were collected from mice for 16S high-throughput sequencing after TAI. Furthermore, fecal microorganism transplantation (FMT) was performed to confirm the effect of D-gal on radiation injury recovery. Intraperitoneally administered D-gal significantly increased the survival of irradiated mice by altering the gut microbiota structure. Furthermore, the fecal microbiota transplanted from D-gal-treated mice protected against radiation injury and improved the survival rate of recipient mice. Taken together, D-gal accelerates gut recovery following radiation injury by promoting the growth of specific microorganisms, especially those in the class Erysipelotrichia. The study discovered that D-gal-induced changes in the microbiota protect against radiation-induced intestinal injury. Erysipelotrichia and its metabolites are a promising therapeutic option for post-radiation intestinal regeneration.