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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1522191
This article is part of the Research Topic Probiotics for Global Health: Advances, Applications and Challenges View all 19 articles
Limosilactobacillus reuteri regulates gut microbiota and increases the effective metabolite luteolin to inhibit MAPK/STAT3 signaling pathway to alleviate allergic rhinitis
Provisionally accepted
Mingyan Zhang 1
Xuewei Sun 2
Xiang Yu 3* Li Xu 3* Xinrui Zhang 1* Ruonan Zhang 4* Han Lu 5* Yujie Wang 1* Fei Xue 3* Ting Zhang 3*
Chengliang Tang 2 Zihan Wu 2* Zhuohan Zhang 2*
Jin Zhu 2 Qian Cui 6*
Zhan Yang 2* You Cheng 3*- 1 Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
- 2 Huadong Medical Institute of Biotechniques Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
- 3 Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
- 4 Nanjing Medical University Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
- 5 Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
- 6 Air Force Hospital of Eastern TheaterNanjing, China, Nanjing, China
The global prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) remains high, posing challenges due to its chronic nature and propensity for recurrence. Gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to immune dysregulation, impacting AR pathogenesis. Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) has great potential in regulating immune function to alleviate AR symptoms. However, the specific active components and mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effects in AR remain incompletely clarified. This study aimed to explore the potential mechanisms of L. reuteri and its metabolites in alleviating AR. The AR mouse model was constructed using ovalbumin (OVA). The analysis of hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE staining) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) suggested that L. reuteri alleviated nasal inflammation, suppressed aberrant Th2 immune responses, and modulated the balance of Treg and Th17 cytokines. The 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolic analysis revealed that L. reuteri restored gut microbiota composition and significantly increased the abundance of Ligilactobacillus and the metabolite luteolin (LO). Through ELISA and Western blotting analysis, LO treatment restored the Th1/Th2 and Treg/Th17 cytokine balance and suppressed the MAPK/STAT3 signaling pathway in AR mice. The study highlights LO as a key metabolite contributing to the anti-inflammatory effects of L. reuteri, suggesting potential avenues for future therapeutic strategies in AR management.
Keywords: allergic rhinitis, Limosilactobacillus reuteri, Gut Microbiota, metabolite, Luteolin, Immune Regulation
Received: 05 Nov 2024; Accepted: 11 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Sun, Yu, Xu, Zhang, Zhang, Lu, Wang, Xue, Zhang, Tang, Wu, Zhang, Zhu, Cui, Yang and Cheng. 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:
Xiang Yu, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
Li Xu, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
Xinrui Zhang, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
Ruonan Zhang, Nanjing Medical University Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
Han Lu, Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210011, Jiangsu Province, China
Yujie Wang, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
Fei Xue, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
Ting Zhang, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
Zihan Wu, Huadong Medical Institute of Biotechniques Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
Zhuohan Zhang, Huadong Medical Institute of Biotechniques Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
Qian Cui, Air Force Hospital of Eastern TheaterNanjing, China, Nanjing, China
Zhan Yang, Huadong Medical Institute of Biotechniques Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
You Cheng, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University Nanjing, China, Nanjing, China
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