Researchers led by Ohio State University have mapped how over a dozen pesticides affect gut bacteria, revealing potential probiotics and therapeutic strategies to counteract pesticide-induced inflammation.
Emerging evidence suggests that pesticides can be toxic to the diverse range of microorganisms in the human digestive system. Now, a new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University sheds new light on this issue. They are the first to map specific changes in gut bacteria caused by pesticide exposure, observed both in laboratory settings and animal models.
Groundbreaking Findings
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, reveals that over a dozen pesticides impact the growth patterns of human gut bacteria, affecting how these microorganisms process nutrients and even reside within some bacterial species.
This extensive “atlas” of molecular mechanisms has been made publicly available, promising to be a valuable resource for targeted research on diseases and potential therapeutic strategies.
Protective Gut Bacteria
Experiments in mice revealed that certain gut bacteria could provide a protective barrier against pesticide toxicity, suggesting the potential for a probiotic approach to mitigating some detrimental health effects, particularly inflammation.
“We’ve provided further understanding of how pesticides or environmental pollutants impact human health by modulating an important collection of microorganisms,” senior author Jiangjiang Zhu, an associate professor of human sciences at Ohio State, said in a news release.
Detailed Analysis
The team studied the interactions between 18 widely used pesticides and 17 species of gut bacteria associated with health maintenance and disease. Even with restrictions on their use, residues from some legacy pesticides still exist in soil and water, as noted by Zhu.
“We grew bacteria in culture and exposed them to relevant concentrations of pesticides to see how microbes responded to those pesticide exposures,” added first author Li Chen, a senior research associate in Zhu’s lab, who oversaw the analysis of over 10,000 samples for the study.
The analysis detailed specific metabolic changes in 306 pesticide-gut microbe pairs, revealing the altered growth patterns and chemical accumulations affecting metabolites — molecular products that perform essential functions and convey signals within the cell and immune system.
Implications for Human Health
Investigating further, the researchers introduced a common strain of human gut bacteria, Bacteroides ovatus, to mice and exposed them to pesticides. This led to various metabolic changes and lipid production modifications, with significant implications for oxidative stress and inflammatory responses.
“We identified microbes that may modulate the toxic effect of pesticides to the host by somehow buffering the inflammation process,” Zhu added.
Future Directions
Zhu’s lab is set to delve deeper into how these metabolic changes relate to health and disease conditions post-pesticide exposure.
“We are mapping out this central interaction between pesticides and gut microbes. And then other labs can leverage what we have discovered — for example, after exposure to a pesticide, gut microbe reactions may lead to downstream consequences that contribute to disease research and eventually help with predicting targets or identifying an intervention strategy,” Zhu added.
Support and Collaboration
This research was funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, with Zhu also receiving support from Ohio State’s Provost’s Scarlet and Gray Associate Professor Program.
Co-authors of the study include Chao Guo, Huan Zhang, Shiqi Zhang, Andrew Gold, Ming Hu and Dayong Wu of Ohio State; Hong Yan and Caroline Johnson of Yale University; Shanshan Di and Xinquan Wang of Zhejiang Academy in Hangzhou, China; and Yu Wang of Johns Hopkins University.
Source: The Ohio State University