Herbicide propisochlor exposure induces intestinal barrier impairment, microbiota dysbiosis and gut pyroptosis

Yunle Liu; Lin Ye; Huodai Chen; Karl Wah Keung Tsim; Xing Shen; Xiangmei Li; Xueling Li; Hongtao Lei

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115154

Herbicide propisochlor exposure induces intestinal barrier impairment, microbiota dysbiosis and gut pyroptosis

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2023 Jun 19:262:115154. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115154. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yunle Liu¹, Lin Ye², Huodai Chen², Karl Wah Keung Tsim³, Xing Shen², Xiangmei Li², Xueling Li², Hongtao Lei⁴

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Quality and Safety/National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Machining and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Quality and Safety/National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Machining and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
³ Division of Life Science, Center for Chinese Medicine, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
⁴ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Quality and Safety/National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Machining and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China. Electronic address: hongtao@scau.edu.cn.

PMID: 37348218
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115154

Abstract

Propisochlor is a chloroacetamide herbicide causing liver toxicity and suppressing immunity in human and animal. Although the herbicide has been used for years, the effects of propisochlor on intestinal health remain poorly understood. Hence, the impacts of propisochlor in intestinal health and gut microbiota were analyzed by using molecular approach and bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing. The result showed that the intake of propisochlor in mice impaired gut morphology, reduced expression of tight junction proteins, decreased thickness of mucus layer and activated pyroptosis signaling. Moreover, the exposure of propisochlor in mice led to significant alterations in gut microbial diversity and composition, including an increase of Bacteroidetes and a decrease of Firmicutes. The gut microbiota, such as Parabacteroides, Parasutterella, and Bacteroides, demonstrated a strong negative correlation with the intestinal health. These findings suggested that gut microbiota could play a critical role in the propisochlor-induced pyroptosis.

Keywords: Gut microbiota; Herbicide; Intestinal barrier; Propisochlor; Pyroptosis.