Social Hierarchy Dictates Intestinal Radiation Injury in a Gut Microbiota-Dependent Manner

Abstract

Social hierarchy governs the physiological and biochemical behaviors of animals. Intestinal radiation injuries are common complications connected with radiotherapy. However, it remains unclear whether social hierarchy impacts the development of radiation-induced intestinal toxicity. Dominant mice exhibited more serious intestinal toxicity following total abdominal irradiation compared with their subordinate counterparts, as judged by higher inflammatory status and lower epithelial integrity. Radiation-elicited changes in gut microbiota varied between dominant and subordinate mice, being more overt in mice of higher status. Deletion of gut microbes by using an antibiotic cocktail or restructuring of the gut microecology of dominant mice by using fecal microbiome from their subordinate companions erased the difference in radiogenic intestinal injuries. Lactobacillus murinus and Akkermansia muciniphila were both found to be potential probiotics for use against radiation toxicity in mouse models without social hierarchy. However, only Akkermansia muciniphila showed stable colonization in the digestive tracts of dominant mice, and significantly mitigated their intestinal radiation injuries. Our findings demonstrate that social hierarchy impacts the development of radiation-induced intestinal injuries, in a manner dependent on gut microbiota. The results also suggest that the gut microhabitats of hosts determine the colonization and efficacy of foreign probiotics. Thus, screening suitable microbial preparations based on the gut microecology of patients might be necessary in clinical application.

Characteristics of gut microbiota in chicken early life

“…In this study, we analysed the composition and changes of the gut microbiota in SPF chickens under normal rearing conditions. However, samples were collected randomly, and thus factors such as genetics, sex, and social hierarchy in the population could affect the dynamic process of gut colonisation by microbiota (Kers et al, 2018;Zeng et al, 2022).…”

Excision of mesenteric lymph nodes alters gut microbiota and impairs social dominance in adult mice

“…However, more research is needed to elucidate how the hippocampus regulates social dominance. Furthermore, gut microbiota was found to differ among individuals of different social dominance (Yun et al., 2018 ; Zeng et al., 2022 ), but how gut microbiota influence social dominance remains unclear.…”