Gastroenterology. 2022 Aug 4:S0016-5085(22)00827-7. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2022.07.051. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND & AIMS: The circadian clock orchestrates ∼24-hour oscillations of gastrointestinal epithelial structure and function that drive diurnal rhythms in gut microbiota. Here, we use experimental and computational approaches in intestinal organoids to reveal reciprocal effects of gut microbial metabolites on epithelial timekeeping by an epigenetic mechanism.
METHODS: We cultured enteroids in media supplemented with sterile supernatants from the altered Schaedler Flora (ASF), a defined murine microbiota. Circadian oscillations of bioluminescent PER2 and Bmal1 were measured in the presence or absence of individual ASF supernatants. Separately, we applied machine learning to ASF metabolomics to identify phase-shifting metabolites.
RESULTS: Sterile filtrates from 3 of 7 ASF species (ASF360 Lactobacillus intestinalis, ASF361 Ligilactobacillus murinus, ASF502 Clostridium spp.) induced minimal alterations in circadian rhythms, whereas filtrates from 4 ASF species (ASF356 Clostridium spp., ASF492 Eubacterium plexicaudatum, ASF500 Pseudoflavonifactor spp., ASF519 Parabacteroides goldsteinii) induced profound, concentration-dependent phase shifts. Random forest classification identified short chain fatty acids (SCFA: butyrate, propionate, acetate, and isovalerate) production as a discriminating feature of ASF “shifters”. Experiments with SCFAs confirmed machine learning predictions, with a median phase shift of 6.2 hours in murine enteroids. Pharmacological or botanical HDAC inhibitors yielded similar findings. Further, mithramycin A, an inhibitor of HDAC inhibition, reduced SCFA-induced phase shifts by 20% (P<0.05) and conditional knockout of HDAC3 in enteroids abrogated butyrate effects on Per2 expression. Key findings were reproducible in human Bmal1-luciferase enteroids, colonoids and Per2-luciferase Caco-2 cells.
CONCLUSIONS: Gut microbe-generated SCFAs entrain intestinal epithelial circadian rhythms by an HDACi-dependent mechanism, with critical implications for understanding microbial and circadian network regulation of intestinal epithelial homeostasis.
PMID:35934064 | DOI:10.1053/j.gastro.2022.07.051