Acute kidney injury (AKI) has considerably high morbidity and mortality but we do not have proper treatment for it. There is an urgent need to develop new prevention or treatment methods. Gut microbiota has a close connection with renal diseases and has become the new therapy target for AKI. In this study, we found the oral administration of the probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri had a prevention effect on the AKI induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). It reduced serum concentration of creatinine and urea nitrogen and protected the renal cells from necrosis and apoptosis. Meanwhile, L. reuteri improved the gut barrier function, which is destroyed in AKI, and modulated the gut microbiota and relevant metabolites. Compared with the LPS group, L. reuteri increased the proportion of Proteobacteria and reduced the proportion of Firmicutes, changing the overall structure of the gut microbiota. It also influenced the fecal metabolites and changed the metabolite pathways, such as tyrosine metabolism, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, galactose metabolism, purine metabolism, and insulin resistance. These results showed that L. reuteri is a potential therapy for AKI as it helps in sustaining the gut barrier integrity and modulating gut microbiota and related metabolites.
Keywords: Limosilactobacillus reuteri; acute kidney injury; gut microbiome; intestinal barrier; metabolites.
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