Abstract
RationaleChronic smoke exposure is associated with weight loss in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). However, the biological contribution of chronic smoking and sex on the cecal microbiome has not been previously investigated.MethodsAdult male, female and ovariectomized mice were exposed to air (control group) or smoke for six months using a standard nose-only smoke exposure system. DNA was extracted from the cecal content using the QIAGEN QIAamp® DNA Mini Kit. Droplet digital PCR was used to generate total 16S bacterial counts, followed by Illumina MiSeq® analysis to determine microbial community composition. The sequencing data were resolved into Amplicon Sequence Variants and analyzed with the use of QIIME2®. Alpha diversity measures (Richness, Shannon Index, Evenness and Faith’s Phylogenetic Diversity) and beta diversity (based on Bray-Curtis distances) were assessed and compared according to smoke exposure and sex.ResultsThe microbial community was different between male and female mice, while ovariectomy made the cecal microbiome similar to that of male mice. Chronic smoke exposure led to significant changes in the cecal microbial community in both male and female mice. The organism, Alistipes, was the most consistent bacteria identified at the genus level in the cecal content that was reduced with chronic cigarette exposure and its expression was positively related to the whole-body weight of these mice.ConclusionChronic smoke exposure is associated with changes in the cecal content microbiome; these changes may play a role in the weight changes that are observed in cigarette smokers.
Highlights
Cigarette smoking is associated with weight loss but the mechanism for this is not well known [1,2,3]
The organism, Alistipes, was the most consistent bacteria identified at the genus level in the cecal content that was reduced with chronic cigarette exposure and its expression was positively related to the whole-body weight of these mice
Chronic smoke exposure is associated with changes in the cecal content microbiome; these changes may play a role in the weight changes that are observed in cigarette smokers
Summary
Cigarette smoking is associated with weight loss but the mechanism for this is not well known [1,2,3]. There is a growing body of evidence that cigarette smoking may promote shifts in the gut microbial communities, leading to an imbalance between commensals and pathogenic bacteria (i.e., gut microbial dysbiosis) [12, 13], which may impact on weight. Consistent with this notion, the genera Bifidobacteria and Lactococcus, which are involved in energy metabolism from short-chain fatty acids, are decreased in the intestinal flora following smoke exposure [13,14,15]. The GF mice after receiving cecal contents from conventionally-raised mice had a 61% increase in their epididymal fat weight, supporting the importance of the gut microbiome in regulating body weight
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