Abstract
BackgroundThe gastrointestinal motility is affected by gut microbiota and the relationship between them has become a hot topic. However, mechanisms of microbiota in regulating motility have not been well defined. We thus investigated the effect of microbiota depletion by antibiotics on gastrointestinal motility, colonic serotonin levels, and bile acids metabolism.MethodsAfter 4 weeks with antibiotics treatments, gastrointestinal and colon transit, defecation frequency, water content, and other fecal parameters were measured and analyzed in both wild-type and antibiotics-treated mice, respectively. Contractility of smooth muscle, serotonin levels, and bile acids levels in wild-type and antibiotics-treated mice were also analyzed.ResultsAfter antibiotics treatment, the richness and diversity of intestinal microbiota decreased significantly, and the fecal of mice had less output (P < 0.01), more water content (P < 0.01), and longer pellet length (P < 0.01). Antibiotics treatment in mice also resulted in delayed gastrointestinal and colonic motility (P < 0.05), and inhibition of phasic contractions of longitudinal muscle from isolated proximal colon (P < 0.01). In antibiotics-treated mice, serotonin, tryptophan hydroxylase 1, and secondary bile acids levels were decreased.ConclusionGut microbiota play an important role in the regulation of intestinal bile acids and serotonin metabolism, which could probably contribute to the association between gut microbiota and gastrointestinal motility as intermediates.
Highlights
The gastrointestinal motility is affected by gut microbiota and the relationship between them has become a hot topic
Composition of intestinal microbiome in mice after antibiotics To determine the importance of commensal microbiota in gut motility, mice were subjected to a 4-week oral administration of antibiotics combination [17, 18, 20, 28, 29]
The antibiotics resulted in changes in the composition of commensal bacteria examined by 16S rRNA analysis
Summary
The gastrointestinal motility is affected by gut microbiota and the relationship between them has become a hot topic. We investigated the effect of microbiota depletion by antibiotics on gastrointestinal motility, colonic serotonin levels, and bile acids metabolism. Barbara et al [6] suggested that gut microflora affected intestinal motility. The monoamine serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) is an important gut neuroendocrine factor which is synthesized mainly by enterochromaffin cells (ECs), and has been demonstrated to regulate gut motility in certain pathways. Yano et al [12] suggested that gut microbes regulated the 5-HT level in colon, which impacted intestinal motility and hemostasis. Few systematical studies focus on the relationship among BAs, 5-HT, microbiota, and gut motility
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