Hypoxia and inactivity related physiological changes precede or take place in absence of significant rearrangements in bacterial community structure: The PlanHab randomized trial pilot study

PLoS One. 2017 Dec 6;12(12):e0188556. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188556. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

We explored the assembly of intestinal microbiota in healthy male participants during the randomized crossover design of run-in (5 day) and experimental phases (21-day normoxic bed rest (NBR), hypoxic bed rest (HBR) and hypoxic ambulation (HAmb) in a strictly controlled laboratory environment, with balanced fluid and dietary intakes, controlled circadian rhythm, microbial ambiental burden and 24/7 medical surveillance. The fraction of inspired O2 (FiO2) and partial pressure of inspired O2 (PiO2) were 0.209 and 133.1 ± 0.3 mmHg for NBR and 0.141 ± 0.004 and 90.0 ± 0.4 mmHg for both hypoxic variants (HBR and HAmb; ~4000 m simulated altitude), respectively. A number of parameters linked to intestinal environment such as defecation frequency, intestinal electrical conductivity (IEC), sterol and polyphenol content and diversity, indole, aromaticity and spectral characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were measured (64 variables). The structure and diversity of bacterial microbial community was assessed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Inactivity negatively affected frequency of defecation and in combination with hypoxia increased IEC (p < 0.05). In contrast, sterol and polyphenol diversity and content, various characteristics of DOM and aromatic compounds, the structure and diversity of bacterial microbial community were not significantly affected over time. A new in-house PlanHab database was established to integrate all measured variables on host physiology, diet, experiment, immune and metabolic markers (n = 231). The observed progressive decrease in defecation frequency and concomitant increase in IEC suggested that the transition from healthy physiological state towards the developed symptoms of low magnitude obesity-related syndromes was dose dependent on the extent of time spent in inactivity and preceded or took place in absence of significant rearrangements in bacterial microbial community. Species B. thetaiotamicron, B. fragilis, B. dorei and other Bacteroides with reported relevance for dysbiotic medical conditions were significantly enriched in HBR, characterized with most severe inflammation symptoms, indicating a shift towards host mucin degradation and proinflammatory immune crosstalk.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Bacteria / classification*
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Bacterial Physiological Phenomena*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Cross-Over Studies
  • Exercise
  • Feces / chemistry
  • Healthy Volunteers
  • Humans
  • Hypoxia / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Pilot Projects
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

The study was funded by the European Union programme FP7 (PlanHab project; Grant no. 284438; https://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7; http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/104127_en.html), the European Space Agency (ESA) Programme for European Cooperating States (ESTEC/Contract No. 40001043721/11/NL/KML: Planetary Habitat Simulation; www.esa.int/), and the Slovene Research Agency (Contract no. L3-3654: Zero and reduced gravity simulation: The effect on the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems; https://www.arrs.gov.si/). BS, ZP, RS, BM, ML acknowledge the support of Slovenian Research Agency (https://www.arrs.gov.si/) next generation sequencing research grants and Young Research Fellowship awarded to BS for RS (SRA#37426). COST Action CA15120 Open Multiscale Systems Medicine (OpenMultiMed) is acknowledged for support and fruitful discussions during the final preparation of the manuscript. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.