title: Opioid-induced gut microbial disruption and bile dysregulation leads to gut barrier compromise and sustained systemic inflammation.
abstract: Morphine and its pharmacological derivatives are the most prescribed analgesics for moderate to severe pain management. However, chronic use of morphine reduces pathogen clearance and induces bacterial translocation across the gut barrier. The enteric microbiome has been shown to have a critical role in the preservation of the mucosal barrier function and metabolic homeostasis. Here, we show for the first time, using bacterial 16s rDNA sequencing, that chronic morphine treatment significantly alters the gut microbial composition and induces preferential expansion of Gram-positive pathogenic and reduction in bile-deconjugating bacterial strains. A significant reduction in both primary and secondary bile acid levels was seen in the gut, but not in the liver with morphine treatment. Morphine-induced microbial dysbiosis and gut barrier disruption was rescued by transplanting placebo-treated microbiota into morphine-treated animals, indicating that microbiome modulation could be exploited as a therapeutic strategy for patients using morphine for pain management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Pharmacology, Division of Infection, Inflammation and Vascular Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sindberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Pharmacology, Division of Infection, Inflammation and Vascular Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Pharmacology, Division of Infection, Inflammation and Vascular Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dauer
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dalluge
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Pharmacology, Division of Infection, Inflammation and Vascular Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.|Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001646:Bile / Q000378:metabolism*; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000378:metabolism; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D064806:Dysbiosis; D000069467:Fecal Microbiota Transplantation; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000187:drug effects*; D007107:Immune System / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D007249:Inflammation / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009020:Morphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000378:metabolism; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2; D009020:Morphine; D002784:Cholesterol