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. 2019 Jan;93(1):25-35.
doi: 10.1007/s00204-018-2332-7. Epub 2018 Oct 24.

Gut microbiome disruption altered the biotransformation and liver toxicity of arsenic in mice

Affiliations

Gut microbiome disruption altered the biotransformation and liver toxicity of arsenic in mice

Liang Chi et al. Arch Toxicol. 2019 Jan.

Abstract

The mammalian gut microbiome (GM) plays a critical role in xenobiotic biotransformation and can profoundly affect the toxic effects of xenobiotics. Previous in vitro studies have demonstrated that gut bacteria have the capability to metabolize arsenic (As); however, the specific roles of the gut microbiota in As metabolism in vivo and the toxic effects of As are largely unknown. Here, we administered sodium arsenite to conventionally raised mice (with normal microbiomes) and GM-disrupted mice with antibiotics to investigate the role of the gut microbiota in As biotransformation and its toxicity. We found that the urinary total As levels of GM-disrupted mice were much higher, but the fecal total As levels were lower, than the levels in the conventionally raised mice. In vitro experiments, in which the GM was incubated with As, also demonstrated that the gut bacteria could adsorb or take up As and thus reduce the free As levels in the culture medium. With the disruption of the gut microbiota, arsenic biotransformation was significantly perturbed. Of note, the urinary monomethylarsonic acid/dimethylarsinic acid ratio, a biomarker of arsenic metabolism and toxicity, was markedly increased. Meanwhile, the expression of genes of one-carbon metabolism, including folr2, bhmt, and mthfr, was downregulated, and the liver S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) levels were significantly decreased in the As-treated GM-disrupted mice only. Moreover, As exposure altered the expression of genes of the p53 signaling pathway, and the expression of multiple genes associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was also changed in the As-treated GM-disrupted mice only. Collectively, disruption of the GM enhances the effect of As on one-carbon metabolism, which could in turn affect As biotransformation. GM disruption also increases the toxic effects of As and may increase the risk of As-induced HCC in mice.

Keywords: Arsenic biotransformation; Gut bacteria; Methylation; Microbiome; One-carbon metabolism.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Urinary As profiles of As-treated conventionally raised and GM-disrupted mice. DMA (A) and MMA (B) levels were significantly increased in GM-disrupted mice. iAsV levels were significantly decreased in 1ppm As-treated GM-disrupted mice compared with the levels in 1 ppm As-treated conventionally raised animals (C). There was no significant difference in iAsIII levels between the conventionally raised and GM-disrupted mice at the same As dose (D). The MMA/DMA ratio was greatly increased in GM-disrupted mice (E). (Microbiome: “+”, normal GM; “−” disrupted GM. N.S., no significant difference. n=10)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Total As in urine (A), feces (B) and liver (C). Urinary As levels were significantly increased (A) but fecal As levels were decreased (B) in GM-disrupted mice. Liver As levels were not significantly different between conventionally raised and GM-disrupted mice at the same dose (C). (Microbiome: “+”, normal GM; “−”, disrupted GM. N.S., no significant difference.n=10)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Total As levels in bacterial cells (A) and in culture medium (B) before incubation and after a 1-week incubation. Arsenic was highly enriched in bacteria (A), and the As levels in the medium decreased accordingly (B) after incubation with gut bacteria (n=4).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Significantly altered genes involved in folate one-carbon metabolism (q<0.05) and liver SAM levels. The 250-ppb As exposure specifically downregulated multiple genes associated with folate one-carbon metabolism and GSH synthesis in GM-disrupted mice (A). SAM levels were significantly decreased in the livers of the As-treated GM-disrupted mice (B). The framed image shows the related pathways involved in one-carbon metabolism and their relationships with As metabolism (C). (Microbiome: “+”, normal GM; “−”, disrupted GM. N.S., no significant difference. n=5)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
ORA analysis indicates that As (250 ppb) exposure altered the expression of multiple genes associated with the p53 signaling pathway in GM-disrupted mice. (Microbiome: “+”, normal GM; “−”, disrupted GM. n=5)

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