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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1492783

Traditional pediatric massage enhanced the skeletal muscle mass in OVA-exposed adolescent rats via regulating SCFAs-FFAR2-IGF-1/AKT pathway

Provisionally accepted
Lin Lin Lin Lin 1Siyuan Li Siyuan Li 2Que Liu Que Liu 2Xingxing Zhang Xingxing Zhang 2Ying Xiong Ying Xiong 2*Shaoyun Zhao Shaoyun Zhao 2Liyue Cao Liyue Cao 2Jiaxuan Gong Jiaxuan Gong 2Yaping Liu Yaping Liu 3Rong Wu Rong Wu 4
  • 1 Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang Medical College, Shijiazhuang, China
  • 2 College of Acupuncture Moxibustion and Tuina, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
  • 3 Nantong First People’s Hospital, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 4 Department of Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai Province, China, xining, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: This study aimed to investigate the potential relation between the retarded growth of skeletal muscle (SM) and dysbiosis of gut microbiota (GM) in children with asthma, and to explore the potential action mechanisms of traditional pediatric massage (TPM) from the perspective of regulating GM and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production by using an adolescent rat model of asthma. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 3weeks were divided randomly into the 5 groups (n=6~7) of control, ovalbumin (OVA), OVA + TPM, OVA + methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MP) and OVA + SCFAs. Pulmonary function (PF) was detected by whole body plethysmograph, including enhanced pause and minute ventilation. Airway allergic inflammation (AAI) status was assessed by concentrations of OVA-specific immunoglobulin E in plasma, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-1β in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid via ELISA assay. SM mass was assessed by using cross-sectional areas of diaphragm muscle and gastrocnemius via hematoxylin and eosin staining. GM and SCFAs production were detected by 16S rDNA sequencing and GC-MS, respectively. The protein and gene expressions of free fatty acid receptor 2 in SM were detected by using immunohistochemical staining and qRT-PCR, respectively. qRT-PCR was used to detect other relative gene expressions that were closely related with SM mass. The activity of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)/ protein kinase B (PKB/AKT) pathway in SM was detected by western blotting test. Results: OVA exposure caused obvious AAI and poor PF in adolescent rats. OVA-exposed adolescent rats had a retarded growth of SM mass and inhibited activity of IGF-1/AKT pathway, which was related with GM dysbiosis, reduced SCFAs production and FFAR2 expressions in SM. TPM efficiently enhanced the SM mass, along with alleviating AAI and improving PF. TPM activated IGF-1/AKT pathway in SM, which was closely related with correcting GM dysbiosis, enhanced SCFAs production and FFAR2 expressions. Conclusion: The retarded growth of SM mass and inhibition of IGF-1/AKT pathway existed in OVA-exposed adolescent rats, which was related with GM dysbiosis, reduced SCFAs production and FFAR2 expressions in SM. TPM efficiently enhanced the SM mass, at least, partially via regulating GM, enhancing SCFAs production and activating FFAR2-IGF-1/AKT pathway.

    Keywords: Massage, Adolescent, Asthma, skeletal muscle, Gut Microbiota, short-chain fatty acids

    Received: 08 Sep 2024; Accepted: 03 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lin, Li, Liu, Zhang, Xiong, Zhao, Cao, Gong, Liu and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ying Xiong, College of Acupuncture Moxibustion and Tuina, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China

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