Prebiotic galactooligosaccharides interact with mouse gut microbiota to attenuate acute graft-versus-host disease
Zachary C. Holmes, Helen Tang, Congxiao Liu, Amy Bush, Benjamin C. Neubert, Yiqun Jiao, Megan K. Covington, Diana M. Cardona, Michelle C. Kirtley, Benny J. Chen, Nelson J. Chao, Lawrence A. David, Anthony D. Sung
Abstract
Previous studies suggest that gut microbiome disruption induced by chemotherapy, dietary deficiencies, and/or antibiotics are associated with increased incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In a murine model of antibiotic-induced gut microbiome disruption, Holmes and colleagues show that oral administration of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) as a prebiotic attenuates lethal aGVHD, highlighting the crosstalk between diet and gut microbiota. Their data encourage clinical trials of GOS prebiotic diets during HSCT.