BACKGROUND Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a widespread mycotoxin and induces liver inflammation to human and various species of animals. The intestinal microbiota has critical importance in liver inflammation; however, it remains to know whether intestinal microbiota mediates the liver inflammation induced by OTA. Here, we treated ducklings with oral gavage of OTA (235 μg/kg body weight) for 2 weeks. Then, the microbiota in the cecum and liver were analyzed with 16S rRNA sequencing, and the inflammation in the liver was analyzed. To explore the role of intestinal microbiota in OTA-induced liver inflammation, intestinal microbiota was cleared with antibiotics and fecal microbiota transplantation was conducted. RESULTS Here, we find that OTA treatment in ducks altered the intestinal microbiota composition and structure [e.g., increasing the relative abundance of lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-producing Bacteroides], and induced the accumulation of LPS and inflammation in the liver. Intriguingly, in antibiotic-treated ducks, OTA failed to induce these alterations in the liver. Notably, with the fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) program, in which ducks were colonized with intestinal microbiota from control or OTA-treated ducks, we elucidated the involvement of intestinal microbiota, especially Bacteroides, in liver inflammation induced by OTA. CONCLUSIONS These results highlight the role of gut microbiota in OTA-induced liver inflammation and open a new window for novel preventative or therapeutic intervention for mycotoxicosis.

中文翻译：

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赭曲霉毒素 A 诱发肝脏炎症：肠道微生物群的参与。

背景技术赭曲霉毒素A(OTA)是一种广泛分布的霉菌毒素，可引起人类和各种动物的肝脏炎症。肠道微生物群在肝脏炎症中至关重要。然而，肠道微生物群是否介导 OTA 引起的肝脏炎症仍有待了解。在这里，我们对雏鸭口服 OTA（235 μg/kg 体重）治疗 2 周。然后，通过16S rRNA测序分析盲肠和肝脏中的微生物群，并分析肝脏中的炎症情况。为了探讨肠道微生物群在OTA诱导的肝脏炎症中的作用，用抗生素清除肠道微生物群并进行粪便微生物群移植。结果在这里，我们发现鸭的OTA处理改变了肠道微生物群的组成和结构[例如，增加了产生脂多糖(LPS)的拟杆菌的相对丰度]，并诱导肝脏中LPS的积累和炎症。有趣的是，在接受抗生素治疗的鸭子中，OTA 未能诱导肝脏发生这些变化。值得注意的是，通过粪便微生物群移植（FMT）计划，在鸭子中植入来自对照鸭或经 OTA 处理的鸭子的肠道微生物群，我们阐明了肠道微生物群，特别是拟杆菌，在 OTA 诱导的肝脏炎症中的参与。结论 这些结果强调了肠道微生物群在 OTA 诱导的肝脏炎症中的作用，并为霉菌毒素中毒的新型预防或治疗干预措施打开了新的窗口。