Lactiplantibacillus plantarum attenuate gossypol-induced hepatic lipotoxicity by altering intestinal microbiota for enriching microbial tryptophan metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Abstract Background Free fatty acids (FFAs) are the main cause of fatty liver disease, which can be alleviated by modulation of intestinal microbiota. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum plays a key role in maintaining liver health, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Results Here, a strain affi...

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Main Authors: Fei-Fei Ding, Nan-Nan Zhou, Yue-Jian Mao, Jing Yang, Samwel M. Limbu, Jorge Galindo-Villegas, Zhen-Yu Du, Mei-Ling Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:Microbiome
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-025-02172-0
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author Fei-Fei Ding
Nan-Nan Zhou
Yue-Jian Mao
Jing Yang
Samwel M. Limbu
Jorge Galindo-Villegas
Zhen-Yu Du
Mei-Ling Zhang
author_facet Fei-Fei Ding
Nan-Nan Zhou
Yue-Jian Mao
Jing Yang
Samwel M. Limbu
Jorge Galindo-Villegas
Zhen-Yu Du
Mei-Ling Zhang
author_sort Fei-Fei Ding
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Free fatty acids (FFAs) are the main cause of fatty liver disease, which can be alleviated by modulation of intestinal microbiota. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum plays a key role in maintaining liver health, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Results Here, a strain affiliated to Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was isolated from the intestine of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). We used a gossypol-induced fatty liver disease model, which only increased the FFAs level in liver, to investigate the effectiveness of L. plantarum (YC17) in alleviating FFAs-induced lipotoxicity liver injury. We found that dietary gossypol (GOS) induced a significant increase of FFAs in liver, resulting in lipotoxicity in Nile tilapia compared to control. L. plantarum YC17 supplementation reduced FFAs content by restoring esterification process, and then relieved liver injury. Addition of L. plantarum YC17 effectively increased the abundances of Lactobacillus, Clostridium and Cetobacterium in fish intestine, as well as serum levels of the microbial tryptophan metabolites, notably indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The addition of L. plantarum YC17 significantly inhibited P53 signaling pathway and up-regulated the expression of FFAs esterification genes. In vitro experiments demonstrated that IPA inhibited P53 through ubiquitination and enhanced FFAs esterification in an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) dependent manner. Conclusion The gut microbiota-derived tryptophan metabolites (IPA and IAA) alleviated FFAs induced lipotoxic liver injury by activating Ahr, which promoted P53 ubiquitination, leading to the enhanced FFAs esterification. Our findings demonstrated that gut microbial metabolites alleviated lipotoxicity by promoting the esterification of FFAs in the liver, offering new insights into the study of probiotics and microbial tryptophan metabolites in fatty liver disease. Video Abstract Graphical abstract
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publishDate 2025-08-01
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series Microbiome
spelling doaj-art-a054e8a8ea7247d18549d50cd7b2caf62025-08-20T04:02:55ZengBMCMicrobiome2049-26182025-08-0113111710.1186/s40168-025-02172-0Lactiplantibacillus plantarum attenuate gossypol-induced hepatic lipotoxicity by altering intestinal microbiota for enriching microbial tryptophan metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)Fei-Fei Ding0Nan-Nan Zhou1Yue-Jian Mao2Jing Yang3Samwel M. Limbu4Jorge Galindo-Villegas5Zhen-Yu Du6Mei-Ling Zhang7School of Life Sciences, East China Normal UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, East China Normal UniversityGlobal R&D Innovation Center, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy (Group) Co. LtdGlobal R&D Innovation Center, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy (Group) Co. LtdDepartment of Aquaculture Technology, School of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Technology, University of Dar Es SalaamDepartment of Genomics, Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, East China Normal UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, East China Normal UniversityAbstract Background Free fatty acids (FFAs) are the main cause of fatty liver disease, which can be alleviated by modulation of intestinal microbiota. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum plays a key role in maintaining liver health, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Results Here, a strain affiliated to Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was isolated from the intestine of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). We used a gossypol-induced fatty liver disease model, which only increased the FFAs level in liver, to investigate the effectiveness of L. plantarum (YC17) in alleviating FFAs-induced lipotoxicity liver injury. We found that dietary gossypol (GOS) induced a significant increase of FFAs in liver, resulting in lipotoxicity in Nile tilapia compared to control. L. plantarum YC17 supplementation reduced FFAs content by restoring esterification process, and then relieved liver injury. Addition of L. plantarum YC17 effectively increased the abundances of Lactobacillus, Clostridium and Cetobacterium in fish intestine, as well as serum levels of the microbial tryptophan metabolites, notably indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The addition of L. plantarum YC17 significantly inhibited P53 signaling pathway and up-regulated the expression of FFAs esterification genes. In vitro experiments demonstrated that IPA inhibited P53 through ubiquitination and enhanced FFAs esterification in an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) dependent manner. Conclusion The gut microbiota-derived tryptophan metabolites (IPA and IAA) alleviated FFAs induced lipotoxic liver injury by activating Ahr, which promoted P53 ubiquitination, leading to the enhanced FFAs esterification. Our findings demonstrated that gut microbial metabolites alleviated lipotoxicity by promoting the esterification of FFAs in the liver, offering new insights into the study of probiotics and microbial tryptophan metabolites in fatty liver disease. Video Abstract Graphical abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-025-02172-0Lactiplantibacillus plantarumFree fatty acidsLipotoxicityGut microbiotaMicrobial tryptophan metabolites
spellingShingle Fei-Fei Ding
Nan-Nan Zhou
Yue-Jian Mao
Jing Yang
Samwel M. Limbu
Jorge Galindo-Villegas
Zhen-Yu Du
Mei-Ling Zhang
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum attenuate gossypol-induced hepatic lipotoxicity by altering intestinal microbiota for enriching microbial tryptophan metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Microbiome
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum
Free fatty acids
Lipotoxicity
Gut microbiota
Microbial tryptophan metabolites
title Lactiplantibacillus plantarum attenuate gossypol-induced hepatic lipotoxicity by altering intestinal microbiota for enriching microbial tryptophan metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
title_full Lactiplantibacillus plantarum attenuate gossypol-induced hepatic lipotoxicity by altering intestinal microbiota for enriching microbial tryptophan metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
title_fullStr Lactiplantibacillus plantarum attenuate gossypol-induced hepatic lipotoxicity by altering intestinal microbiota for enriching microbial tryptophan metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
title_full_unstemmed Lactiplantibacillus plantarum attenuate gossypol-induced hepatic lipotoxicity by altering intestinal microbiota for enriching microbial tryptophan metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
title_short Lactiplantibacillus plantarum attenuate gossypol-induced hepatic lipotoxicity by altering intestinal microbiota for enriching microbial tryptophan metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
title_sort lactiplantibacillus plantarum attenuate gossypol induced hepatic lipotoxicity by altering intestinal microbiota for enriching microbial tryptophan metabolites in nile tilapia oreochromis niloticus
topic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum
Free fatty acids
Lipotoxicity
Gut microbiota
Microbial tryptophan metabolites
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-025-02172-0
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