N-acetyl-cysteine alleviates gut dysbiosis and glucose metabolic disorder in high-fat diet-induced mice. - GreenMedInfo Summary
N-Acetyl-Cysteine Alleviates Gut Dysbiosis and Glucose Metabolic Disorder in High-Fat Diet-Induced Mice.
J Diabetes. 2018 May 30. Epub 2018 May 30. PMID: 29845722
Junping Zheng
BACKGROUND: N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an anti-oxidative reagent for clinical diseases, shows potential application to diabetes and other metabolic diseases. However, it is unknown how NAC modulates the gut microbiota of mice with metabolic syndrome. In present study, we aim to demonstrate the preventive effect of NAC on intestinal dysbiosis and glucose metabolic disorder.
METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were fed with normal chow diet (NCD), NCD plus NAC, high-fat diet (HFD) or HFD plus NAC for five months. After the treatment, the glucose level, circulating endotoxin and metabolism-related key proteins were determined. The fecal samples were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. A novel analysis was carried out to predict the functional changes of gut microbiota. In addition, Spearman's correlation between metabolic biomarkers and bacterial abundance was also assayed.
RESULTS: The results show that NAC treatment significantly reversed the glucose intolerance, fasting glucose level, body weight and plasma endotoxin in HFD-fed mice. Further, NAC upregulated the levels of Occludin protein and mucin glycoproteins in proximal colons of HFD-treated mice. Noticeably, NAC promoted the growth of beneficial bacteria such as Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Allobaculum, and hampered the population of diabetes-related genera including Desulfovibrio and Blautia. Also, NAC may influence the metabolic pathways of intestinal bacteria including lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, oxidative stress and bacterial motility. Finally, the modified gut microbiota showed close association with the metabolic changes of the NAC treated HFD-fed mice.
CONCLUSIONS: In summary, NAC may be a potential drug to prevent glucose metabolic disturbance by reshaping the structure of gut microbiota. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.