Gut microbiota combined with fecal metabolomics reveals the effects of FuFang Runzaoling on the microbial and metabolic profiles in NOD mouse model of Sjögren’s syndrome

Objective Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by high levels of chronic lymphocyte infiltration. Differences and dysfunction in the gut microbiota and metabolites may be closely related to the pathogenesis of SS. The purpose of this study was to reveal the relationship between the gut microbiota and metabolome in NOD mice as a model of SS and the role of FuFang Runzaoling (FRZ), which is a clinically effective in treating SS. Methods NOD mice were gavaged with FRZ for 10 weeks. The ingested volume of drinking water, submandibular gland index, pathologic changes of the submandibular glands, and serum cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-17 A, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were determined. The roles of FRZ on gut microbiota and fecal metabolites were explored by 16 S rRNA gene sequencing and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MC), respectively. The correlation between them was determined by Pearson correlation analysis. Results Compared with the model group, the drinking water volume of NOD mice treated with FRZ increased and the submandibular gland index decreased. FRZ effectively ameliorated lymphocyte infiltration in the small submandibular glands in mice. Serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-17 A decreased, and IL-10 increased. The Firmicutes / Bacteroidetes ratio in the FRZ treatment group was higher. FRZ significantly downregulated the relative abundance of the family Bacteroidaceae and genus Bacteroides , and significantly upregulated the relative abundance of genus Lachnospiraceae_UCG-001 . Orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) revealed the significant change in fecal metabolites after FRZ treatment. Based on criteria of OPLS-DA variable influence on projection > 1, P < 0.05, and fragmentation score > 50, a total of 109 metabolites in the FRZ-H group were differentially regulated (47 downregulated and 62 upregulated) compared to their expressions in the model group. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis revealed enriched metabolic of sphingolipid metabolism, retrograde endocannabinoid signaling, GABAergic synapse, necroptosis, arginine biosynthesis, and metabolism of histidine, alanine, aspartate, and glutamate. Correlation analysis between gut microbiota and fecal metabolites suggested that the enriched bacteria were related to many key metabolites. Conclusions Taken together, we found FRZ could reduce the inflammatory responses in NOD mice by regulating the gut microbiota, fecal metabolites, and their correlation to emerge a therapeutic effect on mice with SS. This will lay the foundation for the further studies and applications of FRZ, and the use of gut microbiotas as drug targets to treat SS. Graphical Abstract