In a new study, researchers have found that combining a Western-style high-fat diet with antibiotic use significantly increases the risk of developing pre-inflammatory bowel disease (pre-IBD).
The study suggests that this combination shuts down the energy factories (mitochondria) in cells of the large intestinal lining, leading to gut inflammation.
The research was conducted by UC Davis scientists.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects approximately 11% of people worldwide. It is characterized by recurring episodes of abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits.
IBS patients with mucosal inflammation and changes in the gut’s microbial composition are considered pre-IBD.
The study included 43 healthy adults and 49 adult patients diagnosed with IBS.
The researchers measured fecal calprotectin, a biomarker for intestinal inflammation, of participants.
Elevated levels of fecal calprotectin indicated a pre-IBD condition. The study identified 19 patients with IBS as pre-IBD.
The team found that participants who consumed high-fat diet and used antibiotics were at 8.6 times higher risk for having pre-IBD than those on a low-fat diet and no recent history of antibiotic use.
Participants with the highest fat consumption were about 2.8 times more likely to have pre-IBD than those with the lowest fat intake.
A history of recent antibiotic usage alone was associated with 3.9 times higher likelihood of having pre-IBD.
These findings showed that a history of antibiotics in people consuming a high-fat diet was associated with the greatest risk for pre-IBD.
Using mouse models, the study also tested the effect of high-fat diet and antibiotic use on the cells in the intestinal lining.
It found that a high-fat diet and antibiotics cooperate to disrupt the work of the cell’s mitochondria, shutting its ability to burn oxygen.
This disruption caused a reduction in cell’s oxygen consumption and led to oxygen leakage into the gut.
Higher oxygen levels in the gut promote bacterial imbalances and inflammation. The body’s beneficial bacteria thrive in environments lacking oxygen such as the large intestine.
With the disruption in the gut environment, a vicious cycle of replacing the good bacteria with potentially harmful proinflammatory microbes that are more oxygen tolerant begins.
This in turn leads to mucosal inflammation linked to pre-IBD conditions.
The study also identified 5-aminosalicylate (mesalazine), a drug that restarts the energy factories in the intestinal lining, as a potential treatment for pre-IBD.
One author of the study is Andreas Bäumler, a professor of medical microbiology and immunology.
The study is published in Cell Host and Microbe.
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