Gut Microbiome-Targeted Modulations Regulate Metabolic Profiles and Alleviate Altitude-Related Cardiac Hypertrophy in Rats
Yichen Hu, Zhiyuan Pan, Zongyu Huang, Yan Li, Ni Han, Xiaomei Zhuang, Hui Peng, Quansheng Gao, Qing Wang, B. J. Yang Lee, Heping Zhang, Ruifu Yang, Yujing Bi, Zhenjiang Zech Xu
Abstract
Evidence suggests that gut microbiome changes upon hypobaric hypoxia exposure; however, it remains elusive whether this microbiome change is a merely derivational reflection of host physiological alteration, or it synergizes to exacerbate high-altitude diseases. We intervened gut microbiome in the rat model of prolonged hypobaric hypoxia challenge and found that the intervention could alleviate the symptoms of pathological cardiac hypertrophy, gut microbial dysbiosis, and metabolic disruptions of certain metabolites in gut and plasma induced by hypobaric hypoxia. Our study suggests that gut microbiome may be a causative factor for high-altitude-related pathogenesis and a target for therapeutic intervention.