Effects of chronic cadmium exposure on the structure and function of intestinal mucosal flora in mice

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a serious environmental pollutant to human health. Intestinal flora is associated with human health. This study probed into the effects of Cd on the small intestinal mucosal flora in mice by drinking water intake 5 ppm, 20 ppm and 100 ppm cadmium chloride for 50 days respectively. Results indicated that diversity, taxonomic composition and community structure of intestinal mucosal flora were influenced by Cd exposure. Sphingomonas, Microbacterium and Desulfovibrio, as the characteristic bacteria, played vital roles in the different dose groups of Cd. Meanwhile, Cd exposure adjusted the metabolic function of intestinal mucosal flora, mainly involved in the effects on carbohydrate, amino acid and lipid metabolism. Furthermore, different doses of Cd had different effects on the microbial activity of intestinal mucosal. Conclusively, Cd exposure affected the structure and function of intestinal mucosal flora. We screened the Sphingomonas, Microbacterium and Desulfovibrio as the biomarkers of intestinal mucosal flora after Cd exposure.

Keywords:

• Cadmium
• intestinal mucosal flora
• characteristic bacteria
• metabolic function
• microbial activity

Acknowledgements

The authors to give special thanks to the Wuhan Frasergen Genetic Information Company(Wuhan, China) for analytical assistance and expertise. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript. The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not represent the official policies or positions of any supporting agencies.

Institutional review board statement

All animal work was carried out in accordance within the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine (NO.20171202). All authors knew and approved by this animal experiment.

Informed consent statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Author contributions

Writing-original draft preparation and formal analysis, X.L.; Conceptualization and methodology, Y.W.; Data curation, G.X.; writing-review and editing and funding, Z.T. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. The decision to submit the manuscript for publication was made by all the authors.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

Data available on request.