AUTHOR=Okamura Takuro , Hasegawa Yuka , Hamaguchi Masahide , Sasano Ryoichi , Fukui Michiaki 

TITLE=The role of chicken eggs in modulating sarcopenic obesity and gut microbiota in db/db mice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1281217

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1281217

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Sarcopenia obesity, in which loss of muscle mass and fat accumulation occur simultaneously, is the pathological basis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The usefulness of chicken eggs in sarcopenia prevention has been reported in several previous studies. The purpose of this study was to determine the beneficial effects of chicken eggs in the prevention of sarcopenic obesity in <italic>db/db</italic> mice.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>We raised 8-week-old <italic>db/db</italic> male mice, a model of sarcopenia obesity, for 8 weeks and fed them a diet mixed with dried whole eggs. The fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) group was treated with antibiotics for 2 weeks, starting at 6 weeks of age, followed by FMT twice a week until 16 weeks of age.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Eggs administered to <italic>db/db</italic> mice showed increased grip strength (<italic>p</italic> = 0.022) and muscle mass (<italic>p</italic> = 0.013), decreased visceral fat mass (<italic>p</italic> = 0.005), and significantly increased physical activity (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). The FMT group of egg-fed mice showed a significant improvement in glucose intolerance and sarcopenic obesity. Sequencing of gene expression in the small intestine showed that the gene expression of amino acid transporters such as <italic>Slc6a18</italic>, <italic>Slc6a19</italic>, and <italic>Slc38a6</italic> was increased in egg-fed mice. 16S rRNA sequencing of the gut microbiota showed an increase in the genus <italic>Vampirovibrio</italic> in both the egg-fed and FMT groups compared to that in egg-fed mice.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>The results of this study indicate that egg consumption not only increases the intake of amino acids and other nutrients but also alters the intestinal microbiota and increases amino acid absorption from the intestinal tract, suggesting that eggs might contribute to the ameliorative mechanism of sarcopenic obesity.</p></sec>