Acute Impacts of Ionizing Radiation Exposure on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Gut Microbiome in Mice
Radiation therapy for abdominopelvic malignancies often results in damage to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and permanent changes in bowel function. An overlooked component of the pathophysiology of radiation-induced bowel injury is the role of the gut microbiome. The goal of this research was to...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/6/3339 |
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| author | Alexandra Jameus Jessica Dougherty Ramya Narendrula Daniela Levert Manon Valiquette Jake Pirkkanen Christine Lalonde Patrice Bonin Jeffrey D. Gagnon Vasu D. Appanna Sujeenthar Tharmalingam Christopher Thome |
| author_facet | Alexandra Jameus Jessica Dougherty Ramya Narendrula Daniela Levert Manon Valiquette Jake Pirkkanen Christine Lalonde Patrice Bonin Jeffrey D. Gagnon Vasu D. Appanna Sujeenthar Tharmalingam Christopher Thome |
| author_sort | Alexandra Jameus |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Radiation therapy for abdominopelvic malignancies often results in damage to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and permanent changes in bowel function. An overlooked component of the pathophysiology of radiation-induced bowel injury is the role of the gut microbiome. The goal of this research was to identify the impacts of acute radiation exposure on the GIT and gut microbiome. C57BL/6 mice exposed to whole-body X-rays (0.1–3 Gy) were assessed for histological and microbiome changes 48 h post-radiation exposure. Within the ileum, a dose of 3 Gy significantly decreased crypt depth as well as the number of goblet cells, but increased overall goblet cell size. Overall, radiation altered the microbial distribution within each of the main phyla in a dose- and tissue-dependent manner. Within the Firmicutes phylum, high dose irradiation resulted in significant alterations in bacteria from the class Bacilli within the small bowels, and from the class Clostridia in the large bowels. The 3 Gy radiation also significantly increased the abundance of bacterial families from the Bacteroidetes phylum in the colon and feces. Overall, we identified various alterations in microbiome composition following acute radiation exposure, which could potentially lead to novel biomarkers for tracking patient toxicities or could be used as targets for mitigation strategies against radiation damage. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:11:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c137a9bd1f084e2a981fe41f50bb493b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:11:44Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-c137a9bd1f084e2a981fe41f50bb493b2024-03-27T13:45:45ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672024-03-01256333910.3390/ijms25063339Acute Impacts of Ionizing Radiation Exposure on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Gut Microbiome in MiceAlexandra Jameus0Jessica Dougherty1Ramya Narendrula2Daniela Levert3Manon Valiquette4Jake Pirkkanen5Christine Lalonde6Patrice Bonin7Jeffrey D. Gagnon8Vasu D. Appanna9Sujeenthar Tharmalingam10Christopher Thome11School of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaMedical Sciences Division, NOSM University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaRadiation therapy for abdominopelvic malignancies often results in damage to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and permanent changes in bowel function. An overlooked component of the pathophysiology of radiation-induced bowel injury is the role of the gut microbiome. The goal of this research was to identify the impacts of acute radiation exposure on the GIT and gut microbiome. C57BL/6 mice exposed to whole-body X-rays (0.1–3 Gy) were assessed for histological and microbiome changes 48 h post-radiation exposure. Within the ileum, a dose of 3 Gy significantly decreased crypt depth as well as the number of goblet cells, but increased overall goblet cell size. Overall, radiation altered the microbial distribution within each of the main phyla in a dose- and tissue-dependent manner. Within the Firmicutes phylum, high dose irradiation resulted in significant alterations in bacteria from the class Bacilli within the small bowels, and from the class Clostridia in the large bowels. The 3 Gy radiation also significantly increased the abundance of bacterial families from the Bacteroidetes phylum in the colon and feces. Overall, we identified various alterations in microbiome composition following acute radiation exposure, which could potentially lead to novel biomarkers for tracking patient toxicities or could be used as targets for mitigation strategies against radiation damage.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/6/3339radiation therapyacute radiation syndromegastrointestinal tractmicrobiomebiomarkers |
| spellingShingle | Alexandra Jameus Jessica Dougherty Ramya Narendrula Daniela Levert Manon Valiquette Jake Pirkkanen Christine Lalonde Patrice Bonin Jeffrey D. Gagnon Vasu D. Appanna Sujeenthar Tharmalingam Christopher Thome Acute Impacts of Ionizing Radiation Exposure on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Gut Microbiome in Mice International Journal of Molecular Sciences radiation therapy acute radiation syndrome gastrointestinal tract microbiome biomarkers |
| title | Acute Impacts of Ionizing Radiation Exposure on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Gut Microbiome in Mice |
| title_full | Acute Impacts of Ionizing Radiation Exposure on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Gut Microbiome in Mice |
| title_fullStr | Acute Impacts of Ionizing Radiation Exposure on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Gut Microbiome in Mice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acute Impacts of Ionizing Radiation Exposure on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Gut Microbiome in Mice |
| title_short | Acute Impacts of Ionizing Radiation Exposure on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Gut Microbiome in Mice |
| title_sort | acute impacts of ionizing radiation exposure on the gastrointestinal tract and gut microbiome in mice |
| topic | radiation therapy acute radiation syndrome gastrointestinal tract microbiome biomarkers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/6/3339 |
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