Background
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, affecting 10–20% of the population worldwide [
1,
2]. IBS is characterized by chronic (continuous or intermittent) abdominal pain, bloating, changes in bowel habit and/or stool property. IBS has a multifactorial etiology that may include colonic dysmotility [
3], visceral hypersensitivity [
4], brain–gut interactions [
5], genetic factors [
6], post-infectious low-grade inflammation [
7] and altered gut microbiota [
8].
Along with the development of microecology theories, the role of the gut microbiota in IBS has been paid increasing attention in recent years. There are trillions of bacteria in the human gut that have co-evolved with us [
9]. The predominant phyla in the human gut are
Firmicutes and
Bacteroidetes, followed by
Proteobacteria,
Actinobacteria,
Fusobacteria and
Verrucomicrobia [
10]. The human gut is home to a rich variety of microbes. Accordingly, the human intestinal track, particularly the colon, is equipped with sophisticated regulatory mechanisms that facilitate intestinal balance despite complex interaction with the gut microbiota. However, once intestinal balance is disturbed chronic diseases including inflammatory bowel disease [
11], allergic diseases [
12], obesity [
13], colorectal cancer [
14] among others [
15] may ensue. IBS is closely linked to alterations in gut microbiota composition [
16], which can lead to increased permeability of the intestinal mucosal barrier and modulation of cytokine secretion, thus playing a significant role in the pathophysiology of IBS.
Patients with IBS generally have a reduced quality of life [
17], underscoring the importance of addressing these symptoms. The treatment of IBS ranges from pharmaceutical to psychological intervention [
18]. However, long-term use of currently prescribed therapeutics, such as 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor (5-HT
3) antagonists, although partly effective, does have several side effects. Psychological treatment does not have any side effects but it is difficult to apply effectively long-term. Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese therapy used to improve general health and treat chronic conditions by stimulating specific points with heat generated by burning herbal preparations containing dried mugwort leaves [
19]. Both temperature-related mechanisms and nontemperature-related mechanisms likely underlie the effects of moxibustion. The latter includes smoke, herbs, and far infrared effects [
20]. Growing evidence supports moxibustion as a safe and effective treatment for IBS [
21]. Interestingly, moxibustion has been shown to regulate intestinal microbiota [
22]. However, few studies have explored the effect of moxibustion on the intestinal microbiota. We therefore used high-throughput sequencing to determine changes in intestinal microbial community structure in an IBS rat model with or without moxibustion treatment. Our results provide new leads regarding the pathogenesis and treatment of IBS.
Materials and methods
The Minimum Standards of Reporting Checklist (Additional file
1) contains details of the experimental design, and statistics, and resources used in this study.
Experimental animals
A total of 65 specific-pathogen free 8-day-old male Sprague–Dawley rats were provided by the Department of Laboratory Animal Science of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The animals were raised under standard conditions at 25 ± 1 °C with a relative humidity of 50–70% and 12 h light/dark cycle. The rats did not separate from their mother until they were 4 weeks old. All rats were randomly divided into six groups: normal (n = 11), model (n = 11), moxibustion (n = 11), electroacupuncture (EA, n = 10), Bifid-triple Viable Capsule (BTVC, n = 11) and Pinaverium Bromide (PB, n = 11). All animal work was performed according to the protocols approved by the University Animal Care and Use Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine [IACUC protocol number: SYXK (Shanghai) 2009-0082] to reduce pain and to avoid damage. All efforts were made to minimize animal suffering. During establishing IBS model rats, operations should be slow and soft to avoid causing pain and distress. After the procedure, the animals were monitored until fully free to move and eat. For animal therapy, be gentle when catching animals, and take appropriate treatment after the animals calm down. At the end of the experiment, animals received a lethal dose of pentobarbital sodium to minimize animal suffering.
Establishment of the IBS rat model
The IBS rat model was established by colorectal distention (CRD) through mechanical and chemical stimulus as previously described [
23]. An inflatable balloon (Shanghai Dinghuang Industrial Co., Ltd. China) was slowly inserted rectally about 2 cm into the descending colon of rats. The balloon was distended with 0.5 ml of air, for 1 min and then repeated after 30 min. The same distention was performed for 14 consecutive days between the age of 8 and 21 days. After 4 weeks rest, mustard oil (0.2 ml, 4%, Shanghai Zhixin Chemical Co., Ltd. China.) was injected into the descending colon from the anus once a day for 14 days.
Treatment groups
After successful establishment of the model, rats in the moxibustion group, EA group, BTVC and PB group received their relevant treatments. For the moxibustion group, the ignited moxa stick (0.5 cm in diameter) (Nanyang Hanyi Moxa Co., Ltd. China) was placed 2 cm above the bilateral Tianshu (ST25) and Shangjuxu (ST37) acupoints for 10 min/day for 7 days. ST25 is located bilaterally 5 mm lateral to the intersection between the upper 2/3 and the lower 1/3, in the line between the xiphoid process and the pubic symphysis upper border and ST37 is 5 mm lateral to the anterior tubercle of the tibia and 15 mm below the knee joint [
24].
The EA group was given EA at the bilateral Tianshu and Shangjuxu acupoints with Han’s Acupoint Nerve Stimulator (Beijing Huawei Industrial Development Corporation. China. LH402A) for sparse–dense waves (frequency of sparse wave: 2 Hz, frequency of dense wave: 10 Hz, intensity: 4 mA) for 20 min, once daily for 7 days. The BTVC and PB groups received Bifid-triple Viable Capsule (Inner Mongolia Shuangqi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. China. Lot number: S19980004) and Pinaverium Bromide (Abbott Healthcare SAS. France. Lot number: H20120127), respectively by gavage, once daily for 7 days. The BTVC and PB solutions were prepared as specified for a weight ratio of 1:0.018 for an adult (70 kg) and a rat (200 g). Prepare the required dose of suspension with drinking water. The BTVC solution concentration was 2 mg/ml with a daily dose of 20 mg/kg. The PB solution concentration was 5 mg/ml with a daily dose of 50 mg/kg. The normal and model groups did not receive any treatment. Two rats were died in BTVC group during the treatment by gavage.
Abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) scores
Abdominal withdrawal reflex scores were calculated to assess colon sensitivity to CRD after treatments according to Al-Chaer et al. [
23]. Distention was produced by inflating a balloon inside the descending colon through the anus; the inflation balloon had four pressure grades: 20, 40, 60 and 80 mmHg. Each CRD lasted about 20 s and was repeated three times. AWR scores were produced blindly with no subjective judgment. The mean score for each rat was used for downstream analysis. The detailed grading rules on AWR scores are as follows: (0) no behavioral response to CRD; (1) occasional head movement at the onset of the stimulus; (2) mild abdominal muscle contraction but no lifting; (3) strong abdominal muscle contraction and the abdomen but not pelvic structure being lifted off the platform; (4) body arching and lifting of pelvic structures off the platform.
Preparation of fecal and colon tissue samples
After calculating the AWR scores, rats were weighed and injected with 2% pentobarbital sodium (Sigma. USA. P3761). The colon samples (5 cm above the anus, 3 cm in length) were rapidly collected from the descending colon, 5 g fecal matter was collected and stored at − 80 °C for 16S rRNA sequencing. Then, colon samples were fixed in 10% paraformaldehyde for hematoxylin–eosin staining for histopathological observation.
Bacterial genomic DNA was extracted from all fecal samples using the QIAamp DNAMini Kit (QIAGEN, Germany) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. First, 100 mg fecal sample and 1.4 ml buffer ASL were added to a 2 ml tube. Next, 20 μl proteinase K was added to the tube and mixed well before incubation at 56 °C until the sample was fully dissolved. Next 200 μl buffer AL was added to the tube, mixed thoroughly, followed by incubation at 70 °C for 10 min. Subsequently, 200 μl ethanol (96%) was added to the mixture, which was then loaded onto the QIAamp Mini spin column and centrifuged at 8000 rpm for 1 min. The column material was washed with 500 μl buffer AW1 and centrifuged at 8000 rpm for 1 min, then with 500 μl buffer AW2 and centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 3 min. Finally, the DNA was eluted in 100 μl of AE elution buffer. DNA integrity and fragment size range was assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis, and DNA concentrations were measured using a NanoDrop ND-2000 spectrophotometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA).
Illumina MiSeq sequencing
The V3–V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using universal bacterial primers 341F and 806R [
25]. Pooled amplicons were sequenced on a 300 PE Illumina MiSeq. Demultiplexed reads were quality filtered based on sequence length and quality as previously described [
26]. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were clustered at 97% similarity, and chimeric sequences were removed using UCHIME [
27]. Finally, taxonomic assignment of representative sequences was preformed using the Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) MultiClassifier tool [
28].
Statistical analyses
AWR scores was analysed using SPSS21.0 software, and data were expressed as mean ± SD (Standard ± Deviation) for normally distributed data and as M (Q25–Q75) for non-normally distributed data. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for normally distributed data and a non-parametric test (Kruskal–Wallis H test.) was used for non-normally distributed data.
Bioinformatic analyses were performed using R 3.2.3 (
http://cran.r-project.org). Differences in relative abundance between groups were assessed using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Alpha diversity was calculated using Simpson’s diversity index. Beta diversity was determined by analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) using unweighted UniFrac as distance metric. In addition, OTUs that are differentially abundant were determined using Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LefSE). Results were deemed significant if
P < 0.05.
Discussion
IBS is characterized by several symptoms, including abdominal pain, that can seriously affect quality of life. Visceral hypersensitivity (enhanced intestinal perception) plays a significant role in such abdominal pain and discomfort [
4]. In this study, we applied AWR scores to assess visceral hypersensitivity in rats. We found that AWR scores of IBS model rats were significantly increased compared with normal rats. Certain studies have shown that patients with IBS have a higher pain sensitivity and lower pain threshold than normal subjects [
29]—our results support these findings. More importantly, AWR scores of IBS rats were significantly decreased in moxibustion, EA, BTVC and PB groups, which demonstrates that moxibustion and EA can effectively alleviated abdominal pain by increasing pain threshold and decreasing visceral hypersensitivity in IBS rats as Pinaverium Bromide and Bifid-triple Viable Capsule. Several studies have reported that electroacupuncture [
30], probiotic [
31] and Pinaverium Bromide [
32] have therapeutic effect for IBS. Our findings indicate that moxibustion may potentially be used as an alternative treatment to Bifid-triple Viable Capsule and Pinaverium Bromide.
The intestinal microbiota profoundly affects human health through various means. Commensal bacteria promote proper functioning of the physical and biochemical barrier against pathogens as well as immune system development [
33]. Intestinal bacteria and their metabolic products interact with the host gut mucosal surface thereby shaping the host immune system. Under healthy conditions the host’s response to these bacterial signals will result in immune tolerance. Normal intestinal microbiota play a critical role in promoting immune system development, sustaining normal immune function, and preventing infection by pathogens [
34]. However, when dysbacteriosis occurs the balance between tolerance towards commensals and immune activation in response to pathogens may be lost, which may lead to a range of diseases.
Tianshu and Shangjuxu acupoints are ancient and classical acupoint combination for intestinal diseases such as diarrhea and abdominal pain [
35]. Numerous studies suggest that dysbacteriosis is closely related to the pathophysiology of IBS [
36]. Moxibustion has proven benefits in treating IBS [
37]. However, ours is the first study to examine the effect of moxibustion on the gut microbiota in IBS. We analyzed changes in gut microbiota between IBS and normal rats and the effect of moxibustion therapy on the gut microbiota.
We found that the intestinal microbial composition of IBS rats differed from that of normal rats. IBS rats had significantly decreased alpha diversity and increased relative abundance of
Bacteroidetes, which is consistent with previous reports [
38]. Several studies have now reported that IBS patients and IBS model rats have significantly reduced levels of
Lactobacillus [
39,
40].
Lactobacillus is a major component of the commensal bacterial flora of the human intestinal tract, and is frequently used as a probiotic as it induces the production of large quantities of anti-inflammatory interleukins that improve intestinal barrier function, thus preventing the development of colitis [
41]. Several studies have shown that
Lactobacillus GG—a specific probiotic strain of
Lactobacillus (ATCC 53103)—effectively treats IBS in humans and rats [
42‐
44]. Indeed, in our study,
Lactobacillus was decreased in IBS rats, as were
Clostridium XIVa and
Oscillibacter. Further,
Prevotella,
Bacteroides and
Clostridium XI were increased in IBS model rats. Interestingly however, these IBS-related changes in gut microbiota could be normalized by moxibustion treatment, after which the relative abundance of
Lactobacillus and
Clostridium XIVa increased, while
Prevotella,
Bacteroides and
Clostridium XI decreased. In addition, moxibustion treatment led to increased gut microbiota diversity, as did the other treatments considered in this study (EA, BTVC, and PB) to varying degrees.
We conducted LEfSe to discover distinctive features at all levels which may be the potential biomarkers of the IBS. Twenty-one features were discovered by LEfSe, and the relative abundance of Bacteroidia, Bacteroidales and Bacteroidetes, which exhibited the top three highest LDA score suggesting that these features may be closely related to IBS. We have also identified some potential markers that may play a therapeutic role in different treatments. It was an interesting finding that Butyricicoccus, Enterobacteriales and Enterobacteriaceae were significant abundant both in MOX and EA group compared to MC group. This suggests that moxibustion and electroacupuncture may have some similar therapeutic targets. Although we have found some potential biomarkers, how to regulate these markers by moxibustion and electroacupuncture still requires further research.
Authors’ contributions
WX and WH conceived and designed the study. WX and QQ wrote the main manuscript text. WY, LY and JD performed animal experiments and collected data. JX and YH analyzed data. WC prepared figures and tables. All authors reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.