Yun Zhang1, Song Zhang1, Bolin Li2, Yingchun Luo1, Yongtai Gong1, Xuexin Jin3, Jiawei Zhang1, Yun Zhou1, Xiaozhen Zhuo2,4, Zixi Wang2, Xinbo Zhao1, Xuejie Han1, Yunlong Gao1, Hui Yu1, Desen Liang1,5, Shiqi Zhao1, Danghui Sun1, Dingyu Wang1, Wei Xu1, Guangjin Qu1, Wanlan Bo1, Dan Li1, Yue Wu2, Yue Li1,5,6,7,8. 1. Department of Cardiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China. 2. Department of Cardiology, the First Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China. 3. Department of Pharmacology (State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Medicine Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China. 4. Department of Cardiology, Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China. 5. Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Harbin Medical University, Ministry of Education, Harbin 150001, China. 6. NHC Key Laboratory of Cell Translation, Harbin Medical University, Heilongjiang 150001, China. 7. Key Laboratory of Cardiac Diseases and Heart Failure, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, China. 8. Heilongjiang Key Laboratory for Metabolic Disorder & Cancer Related Cardiovascular Diseases, Harbin 150081, China.
Abstract
AIMS: Ageing is the most significant contributor to the increasing prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF). The gut microbiota dysbiosis is involved in age-related diseases. However, whether the aged-associated dysbiosis contributes to age-related AF is still unknown. Direct demonstration that the aged gut microbiota is sufficient to transmit the enhanced AF susceptibility in a young host via microbiota-intestinal barrier-atria axis has not yet been reported. This study aimed to determine whether gut microbiota dysbiosis affects age-related AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Herein, by using a faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) rat model, we demonstrated that the high AF susceptibility of aged rats could be transmitted to a young host. Specially, we found the dramatically increased levels of circulating lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and glucose led to the up-regulated expression of NOD-like receptor protein (NLRP)-3 inflammasome, promoting the development of AF, which depended on the enhanced atrial fibrosis in recipient host. Inhibition of inflammasome by a potent and selective inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome, MCC950, resulted in a lower atrial fibrosis and AF susceptibility. Then, we conducted cross-sectional clinical studies to explore the effect of ageing on the altering trends with glucose levels and circulating LPS among clinical individuals in two China hospitals. We found that both of serum LPS and glucose levels were progressively increased in elderly patients as compared with those young. Furthermore, the ageing phenotype of circulating LPS and glucose levels, intestinal structure and atrial NLRP3-inflammasome of rats were also confirmed in clinical AF patients. Finally, aged rats colonized with youthful microbiota restored intestinal structure and atrial NLRP3-inflammasome activity, which suppressed the development of aged-related AF. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these studies described a novel causal role of aberrant gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of age-related AF, which indicates that the microbiota-intestinal barrier-atrial NLRP3 inflammasome axis may be a rational molecular target for the treatment of aged-related arrhythmia disease. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved.
AIMS: Ageing is the most significant contributor to the increasing prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF). The gut microbiota dysbiosis is involved in age-related diseases. However, whether the aged-associated dysbiosis contributes to age-related AF is still unknown. Direct demonstration that the aged gut microbiota is sufficient to transmit the enhanced AF susceptibility in a young host via microbiota-intestinal barrier-atria axis has not yet been reported. This study aimed to determine whether gut microbiota dysbiosis affects age-related AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Herein, by using a faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) rat model, we demonstrated that the high AF susceptibility of aged rats could be transmitted to a young host. Specially, we found the dramatically increased levels of circulating lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and glucose led to the up-regulated expression of NOD-like receptor protein (NLRP)-3 inflammasome, promoting the development of AF, which depended on the enhanced atrial fibrosis in recipient host. Inhibition of inflammasome by a potent and selective inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome, MCC950, resulted in a lower atrial fibrosis and AF susceptibility. Then, we conducted cross-sectional clinical studies to explore the effect of ageing on the altering trends with glucose levels and circulating LPS among clinical individuals in two China hospitals. We found that both of serum LPS and glucose levels were progressively increased in elderly patients as compared with those young. Furthermore, the ageing phenotype of circulating LPS and glucose levels, intestinal structure and atrial NLRP3-inflammasome of rats were also confirmed in clinical AF patients. Finally, aged rats colonized with youthful microbiota restored intestinal structure and atrial NLRP3-inflammasome activity, which suppressed the development of aged-related AF. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these studies described a novel causal role of aberrant gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of age-related AF, which indicates that the microbiota-intestinal barrier-atrial NLRP3 inflammasome axis may be a rational molecular target for the treatment of aged-related arrhythmia disease. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved.
Authors: Monika Gawałko; Thomas A Agbaedeng; Arnela Saljic; Dominik N Müller; Nicola Wilck; Renate Schnabel; John Penders; Michiel Rienstra; Isabelle van Gelder; Thomas Jespersen; Ulrich Schotten; Harry J G M Crijns; Jonathan M Kalman; Prashanthan Sanders; Stanley Nattel; Dobromir Dobrev; Dominik Linz Journal: Cardiovasc Res Date: 2022-08-24 Impact factor: 13.081