Abstract
This study was conducted to explore the effects of interferon tau (IFNT) on the intestinal microbiota and expression of interleukin 17 (IL-17) in the intestine of mice. IFNT supplementation increased microbial diversity in the jejunum and ileum but decreased microbial diversity in the feces. IFNT supplementation influenced the composition of the intestinal microbiota as follows: (1) decreasing the percentage of Firmicutes and increasing Bacteroidetes in the jejunum and ileum; (2) enhancing the percentage of Firmicutes but decreasing Bacteroidetes in the colon and feces; (3) decreasing Lactobacillus in the jejunum and ileum; (4) increasing the percentage of Blautia, Bacteroides, Alloprevotella, and Lactobacillus in the colon; and (5) increasing the percentage of Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, and Allobaculum, while decreasing Blautia in the feces. Also, IFNT supplementation decreased the expression of IL-17 in the intestines of normal mice and of an intestinal pathogen infected mice. In conclusion, IFNT supplementation modulates the intestinal microbiota and intestinal IL-17 expression, indicating the applicability of IFNT to treat the intestinal diseases involving IL-17 expression and microbiota.
Highlights
Interferon tau (IFNT) is produced by trophectoderm cells of conceptuses of ruminant species and is the maternal recognition of the pregnancy signal
For microbiota in the jejunum, both Shannon and Simpson indices demonstrated that the diversity of microbiota in mice with IFNT supplementation was higher than the control mice, while the richness indices (Ace and Chao) suggested that the community richness in IFNT-supplemented and control mice was similar (Table 1)
Results of a previous study revealed that IFNT supplementation (8 μg/kg BW/day) reduces body weight beginning at 3 weeks after IFNT supplementation in Zucker Diabetic Fatty rats, while lower dose of IFNT supplementation (4 μg/kg BW/day) has no significant effect on body weight during 8 weeks of IFNT treatment [19], indicating that the effect of IFNT on body weight depends on dosage and duration of IFNT treatment
Summary
Interferon tau (IFNT) is produced by trophectoderm cells of conceptuses of ruminant species and is the maternal recognition of the pregnancy signal. Besides its critical roles in implantation and establishment of pregnancy in ruminants [1, 2], it has a plethora of physiological functions in various cell types such as macrophages, lymphocytes, and epithelial cells in humans and mice [3,4,5]. It is a type I interferon (IFN), which includes IFN alpha (IFNA), IFN beta (IFNB), IFN delta (IFND), and IFN omega (IFNW). Recent compelling findings about the anti-inflammatory effects of IFNT include lower NLRP3 (nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor, pyrin domain-containing 3) inflammasome-driven IL-1β secretion by human macrophages [4], mitigation of obesity-associated systemic tissue inflammation in mice [5], and promotion of Th2 biased immune response in mice [9]
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