Impact of dietary sulfolipid-derived sulfoquinovose on gut microbiota composition and inflammatory status of colitis-prone interleukin-10-deficient mice

Abstract

The interplay between diet, intestinal microbiota and host is a major factor impacting health. A diet rich in unsaturated fatty acids has been reported to stimulate the growth of Bilophila wadsworthia by increasing the proportion of the sulfonated bile acid taurocholate (TC). The taurine-induced overgrowth of B. wadsworthia promoted the development of colitis in interleukin-10-deficient (IL-10-/-) mice. This study aimed to investigate whether intake of the sulfonates sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerols (SQDG) with a dietary supplement or their degradation product sulfoquinovose (SQ), stimulate the growth of B. wadsworthia in a similar manner and, thereby, cause intestinal inflammation. Conventional IL-10-/- mice were fed a diet supplemented with the SQDG-rich cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina). SQ or TC were orally applied to conventional IL-10-/- mice and gnotobiotic IL-10-/- mice harboring a simplified human intestinal microbiota with or without B. wadsworthia. Analyses of inflammatory parameters revealed that none of the sulfonates induced severe colitis, but both, Spirulina and TC, induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in cecal mucosa. Cell numbers of B. wadsworthia decreased almost two orders of magnitude by Spirulina feeding but slightly increased in gnotobiotic SQ and conventional TC mice. Changes in microbiota composition were observed in feces as a result of Spirulina or TC feeding in conventional mice. In conclusion, the dietary sulfonates SQDG and their metabolite SQ did not elicit bacteria-induced intestinal inflammation in IL-10-/- mice and, thus, do not promote colitis.