Published online Oct 14, 2022. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i38.5557
Peer-review started: May 11, 2022
First decision: June 19, 2022
Revised: June 21, 2022
Accepted: September 8, 2022
Article in press: September 8, 2022
Published online: October 14, 2022
Processing time: 153 Days and 18.4 Hours
The thyroid-gut axis has a great influence on the maintenance of human health; however, we know very little about the effects of low-dose ionizing radiation (LDR) on thyroid hormone levels and gut microbiota composition.
To investigate the potential effects of low-dose X-ray radiation to male C57BL/6J mice.
Peripheral blood was collected for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and stool samples were taken for 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing after irradiation.
We found that LDR caused changes in thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in the irradiated mice, suggesting a dose-dependent response in thyroid function to ionizing radiation. No changes in the diversity and richness of the gut microbiota were observed in the LDR-exposed group in comparison to the controls. The abundance of Moraxellaceae and Enterobacteriaceae decreased in the LDR-exposed groups compared with the controls, and the Lachnospiraceae abundance increased in a dose-dependent manner in the radiated groups. And the abundances of uncultured_bacterium_g_Acinetobacter, uncultured_bacterium_ o_Mollicutes_RF39, uncultured_bacterium_g_Citrobacter, and uncultured_ bacterium_g_Lactococcus decreased in the radiated groups at the genus level, which showed a correlation with radiation exposure and diagnostic efficacy. Analysis of functional metabolic pathways revealed that biological metabolism was predicted to have an effect on functional activities, such as nucleotide metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and glycan biosynthesis and metabolism. Furthermore, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway annotation also suggested that changes in the gut microbiota were related to processing functions, including translation, replication and repair.
LDR can change thyroid function and the gut microbiota, and changes in the abundances of bacteria are correlated with the radiation dose.
Core Tip: In this study, we administered low-dose X-ray radiation to male C57BL/6J mice to investigate the potential effects. Peripheral blood was collected for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and stool samples were taken for 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing after irradiation. We found that LDR caused changes in TSH levels in the irradiated mice and the gut microbiota, and changes in the abundances of bacteria are correlated with the radiation dose. Our research aims to explore the influence of LDR on homeostasis from the “thyroid-gut axis” perspective for the first time.