Radiation-induced intestinal fibrosis is a common complication of long-term survivors after abdominal and pelvic radiotherapy. At present, there is no clinically available method to treat radiation-induced intestinal fibrosis. Studies have shown that nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) has the potential to regulate intestinal flora. Intestinal flora is a normal microorganism in human intestines, which can synthesize a variety of nutrients necessary for human growth and development. Once the intestinal flora is out of balance, it will cause a variety of diseases.
Recently, China Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College published research results in the journal International Journal of Radiation Biology, which showed that NMN could reduce intestinal fibrosis caused by radiation by regulating intestinal flora.
At first, the research team divided the mice into control group, NMN group, IR group and NMNIR group, and gave 15 Gy abdominal irradiation to the IR group and NMNIR group. Meanwhile, NMN supplement was given to NMN group and NMNIR group at a daily dose of 300mg/kg. After taking it for a certain period of time, by detecting mouse feces, intestinal microflora and colon tissue markers, the comparative results showed that:
1. NMN can repair the composition and function of intestinal flora which is disturbed by radiation.
By comparing the detection of intestinal flora between IR group and NMNIR group, it was found that IR group mice increased the abundance of harmful intestinal flora, such as Lactobacillus du, Bacillus faecalis, etc. Surprisingly, NMNIR group mice changed the diversity of intestinal flora and increased the abundance of beneficial intestinal flora, such as AKK bacteria, by supplementing NMN. Experiments show that NMN can repair the composition and function of intestinal flora which is out of balance due to radiation.
2. NMN alleviates intestinal fibrosis caused by radiation
The level of aSMA (Fibrosis Marker) in mice exposed to radiation increased significantly. After NMN supplementation, not only the level of aSMA marker decreased significantly, but also the inflammatory factor TGF-b which promoted intestinal fibrosis decreased significantly, indicating that NMN supplementation can reduce intestinal fibrosis caused by radiation.
(Figure 1. NMN treatment reduces intestinal fibrosis caused by radiation)
Under the background of the prevalence of electronic products, radiation has an increasing impact on people’s work and life, especially on intestinal flora for a long time. NMN has a strong protective effect on intestinal health. This effect is not only realized by a single substance or a certain path, but also by regulating the distribution structure of flora to promote the stability of intestinal function from various angles and directions, which also provides an important reference for various benefits of NMN.
References:
Xiaotong Zhao, Kaihua Ji, Manman Zhang, Hao Huang, Feng Wang, Yang Liu & Qiang Liu (2022): NMN alleviates radiation-induced intestinal fibrosis by modulating gut microbiota, International Journal of Radiation Biology, DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2023.2145029
Post time: Dec-08-2022