Abstract
Triptolide is beneficial for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC), which is closely related to the gut microbiota. However, whether the therapeutic effects of triptolide involve the regulation of the gut microbiota is still unclear. In the present study, animal models of UC mice induced by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) were established, the changes of gut microbiota in mice were detected by high-throughput sequencing. The effects of triptolide on DSS-induced UC mouse and its gut microbiota were studied. As a result, we found that triptolide exerted anti-inflammatory and therapeutic effects on UC mice. Sequencing results for the gut microbiota showed that the composition of the gut microbiota from DSS group was disordered as compared with that from the control group, consistent with a decrease in the abundance of flora. Triptolide treatment accelerated the recovery of the population of the gut microbiota and significantly improved the microbial diversity. At the phylum level, the population of Bacteroidetes decreased and that of Firmicutes increased. At the genus level, Bacteroides and Lachnospiraceae counts decreased. Thus, triptolide could regulate the composition of the gut microbiota, accelerate the recovery of microbiota, and exert good therapeutic effects in UC mice. Our results also revealed that fecal transplantation from triptolide-treated mice could relieve UC. This study provides a reference for the rational use of triptolide for the treatment of UC.
Highlights
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized with chronic and repeated episodes of enteropatia
The results showed that the treatment with 3% DSS resulted in a decrease in the total number of gut microbiota in each group, FIGURE 3 | Triptolide affected the levels of inflammatory factors in the serum of mice with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced chronic colitis. (A) Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) concentration. (B) IL-6 concentration. (C) Interleukin (IL)-17 concentration
The interaction between the host immune system and the gut microbiota is thought to be associated with the onset of ulcerative colitis (UC) and the difficulty underlying its treatment
Summary
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized with chronic and repeated episodes of enteropatia. Patients with UC present with abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea, and the disease has a long course. The constant improvement in the understanding of UC has shown that environmental factors, genetic factors, gut microbiota, and immune factors are closely related to the occurrence of UC. This disease is not caused by a single factor but through the combination of multiple factors (Hisamatsu et al, 2013)
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