Title |
Effect of dietary copper level on the gut microbiota and its correlation with serum inflammatory cytokines in Sprague-Dawley rats |
Author |
Feng Zhang1, Weijiang Zheng1, Rong Guo1, and Wen Yao1,2* |
Address |
1College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P. R. China, 2Key Lab of Animal Physiology and Biochemistry, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing, P. R. China |
Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 55(9),694–702, 2017,
|
DOI |
10.1007/s12275-017-6627-9
|
Key Words |
copper, inflammatory cytokines, gut microbiota,
16S rRNA pyrosequencing |
Abstract |
In China’s swine industry, copper is generally supplemented
above the National Research Council (NRC) requirement
(2012) because of its antimicrobial properties and the potential
for growth promotion. Yet few are concerned about
whether this excess supplementation is necessary. In this
study, the 16S rRNA pyrosequencing was designed and used
to investigate the effect of dietary copper level on the diversity
of the fecal microbial community and the correlation of
copper level with the serum level of inflammatory cytokines
in Sprague-Dawley rat models. The results showed that the
diet containing a high level of Cu (120 and 240 mg/kg) changed
the microbial richness and diversity of rat feces associated
with the increased copper content in the rat ileac and colonic
digesta. Furthermore, a Pearson’s correlation analysis indicated
that an accumulation of unabsorbed copper in the chyme
was correlated with the microbial composition of the rat feces,
which was linked with TNF-α in serum. The results suggest
that dietary copper level may have a direct impact on circulating
inflammatory cytokines in the serum, perhaps inducing
an inflammatory response by altering the microbial composition
of rat feces. Serum TNF-α could be the chief responder
to excessive copper exposure. |