Short-term exposure to high relative humidity increases blood urea and influences colonic urea-nitrogen metabolism by altering the gut microbiota

Autor: Hongmei Yin, Yadong Zhong, Hui Wang, Jielun Hu, Shengkun Xia, Yuandong Xiao, Shaoping Nie, Mingyong Xie
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Advanced Research, Vol 35, Iss , Pp 153-168 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2090-1232
DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2021.03.004
Popis: Introduction: Colonic urea-nitrogen metabolites have been implicated in the pathogenesis of certain diseases which can be affected by environmental factors. Objectives: We aimed to explore the influence of ambient humidity on colonic urea-nitrogen metabolism. Methods: Blood biochemical indexes, metabolites of intestinal tract, and gut microbiota composition of mice (n = 10/group) exposed to high relative humidity (RH, 90 ± 2%) were analyzed during the 14-day exposure. Results: After 12-h exposure, plasma blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level increased along with a decrease in the activity of erythrocyte Na+/K+ -ATPase. Moreover, abnormal erythrocyte morphologies appeared after 3 days of exposure. The colonic BUN and ammonia levels increased significantly after the 12-h and 24-h exposure, respectively. The colonic level of amino acids, partly synthesized by gut microbiota using ammonia as the nitrogen source, was significantly higher on the 7th day. Furthermore, the level of fecal short-chain fatty acids was significantly higher after 3-day exposure and the level of branched-chain fatty acids increased on the 14th day. Overall, gut microbiota composition was continuously altered during exposure, facilitating the preferential proliferation of urea-nitrogen metabolism bacteria. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that short-term high RH exposure influences colonic urea-nitrogen metabolism by increasing the influx of colonic urea and altering gut microbiota, which might further impact the host health outcomes.
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