Quercetin-enriched Lactobacillus aviarius alleviates hyperuricemia by hydrolase-mediated degradation of purine nucleosides

Depeng Li; Meihong Zhang; A La Teng Zhu La; Zhengtian Lyu; Xin Li; Yuqing Feng; Dan Liu; Yuming Guo; Yongfei Hu

doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106928

Quercetin-enriched Lactobacillus aviarius alleviates hyperuricemia by hydrolase-mediated degradation of purine nucleosides

Pharmacol Res. 2023 Oct:196:106928. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106928. Epub 2023 Sep 16.

Authors

Depeng Li¹, Meihong Zhang¹, A La Teng Zhu La¹, Zhengtian Lyu¹, Xin Li¹, Yuqing Feng¹, Dan Liu¹, Yuming Guo¹, Yongfei Hu²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: huyongfei@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 37717681
DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106928

Abstract

The development of hyperuricemia (HUA) and gout is associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Quercetin can reduce serum uric acid levels and thus alleviate HUA by modulating the gut microbiota. However, the detailed mechanisms involved in this process are not fully understood. Here, we showed that quercetin significantly reduced the serum uric acid level in a chicken HUA model by altering the chicken cecal microbiota structure and function and increasing the abundance of Lactobacillus aviarius. An L. aviarius strain, CML180, was isolated from the quercetin-treated chicken gut microbiota. Strain characterization indicated that quercetin promoted the growth of L. aviarius CML180 and increased its adhesion, hydrophobicity, and co-aggregation abilities. Gavage of live L. aviarius CML180 to a mouse model of HUA-established by adenosine and potassium oxonate-reduced the serum uric acid level and alleviated HUA. The ability of L. aviarius CML180 to decrease the level of uric acid was due to its degradation of purine nucleosides, which are the precursors for uric acid production. A nucleoside hydrolase gene, nhy69, was identified from the genome of L. aviarius CML180, and the resulting protein, Nhy69, exhibited strong purine nucleoside-hydrolyzing activity at mesophilic temperature and neutral pH conditions. These findings provide mechanistic insights into the potential of quercetin to treat HUA or gout diseases via a specific gut microbe.

Keywords: Gut microbiota; Hyperuricemia; Lactobacillus aviarius; Nucleoside hydrolase; Quercetin; Uric acid.