Published online Sep 14, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i34.3871
Peer-review started: June 21, 2018
First decision: July 18, 2018
Revised: July 24, 2018
Accepted: August 1, 2018
Article in press: August 1, 2018
Published online: September 14, 2018
Processing time: 85 Days and 13.8 Hours
To study the influence of different doses of tacrolimus (FK506) on gut microbiota after liver transplantation (LT) in rats.
Specific pathogen-free Brown Norway (BN) rats and Lewis rats were separated into five groups: (1) Tolerance group (BN-BN LT, n = 8); (2) rejection group (Lewis-BN LT, n = 8); (3) high dosage FK506 (FK506-H) group (Lewis-BN LT, n = 8); (4) middle dosage FK506 (FK506-M) group (Lewis-BN LT, n = 8); and (5) low dosage FK506 (FK506-L) group (Lewis-BN LT, n = 8). FK506 was administered to recipients at a dose of 1.0 mg/kg, 0.5 mg/kg, and 0.1 mg/kg body weight for 29 d after LT to the FK506-H, FK506-M, and FK506-L groups, respectively. On the 30th day after LT, all rats were sampled and euthanized. Blood samples were harvested for liver function and plasma endotoxin testing. Hepatic graft and ileocecal tissues were collected for histopathology observation. Ileocecal contents were used for DNA extraction, Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and digital processing of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles and analysis.
Compared to the FK506-H and FK506-L groups, FK506-M was optimal for maintaining immunosuppression and inducing normal graft function; the FK506-M maintained gut barrier integrity and low plasma endotoxin levels; furthermore, DGGE results showed that FK506-M induced stable gut microbiota. Diversity analysis indicated that FK506-M increased species richness and rare species abundance, and cluster analysis confirmed the stable gut microbiota induced by FK506-M. Phylogenetic tree analysis identified crucial bacteria associated with FK506-M; seven of the nine bacteria that were decreased corresponded to Bacteroidetes, while increased bacteria were of the Bifidobacterium species. FK506-M increased Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Bifidobacterium spp. and decreased Bacteroides-Prevotella and Enterobacteriaceae, as assessed by RT-PCR, which confirmed the crucial bacterial alterations identified through DGGE.
Compared to the low or high dosage of FK506, an optimal dosage of FK506 induced immunosuppression, normal graft function and stable gut microbiota following LT in rats. The stable gut microbiota presented increased probiotics and decreased potential pathogenic endotoxin-producing bacteria. These findings provide a novel strategy based on gut microbiota for immunosuppressive dosage assessment for recipients following LT.
Core tip: This is the first study to illustrate the effects of different dosages of Tacrolimus (FK506) on gut microbiota following liver transplantation (LT) and indicates that an optimal dosage of FK506 induces effective immunosupression, good graft function and stable gut microbiota after LT in rats. Based on the relationship between gut microbiota and the immunosuppressive dosage in this study, we can not only illustrate precise changes of gut microbiota given by different dosages of FK-506 following LT, but we also provide a novel monitoring strategy based on changes in gut microbiota for immunosuppressive dosage assessment in patients following LT.