Fig. 5: Dex-P/NPA2 treatment regulates the innate immune responses and restores the gut microbiota. | Nature Communications

Fig. 5: Dex-P/NPA2 treatment regulates the innate immune responses and restores the gut microbiota.

From: Nanoparticle-assembled bioadhesive coacervate coating with prolonged gastrointestinal retention for inflammatory bowel disease therapy

Fig. 5: Dex-P/NPA2 treatment regulates the innate immune responses and restores the gut microbiota.

a–f On day 5, colitic SD rats receiving Dex-P/NPA2, or Dex-P/PBS, and untreated colitic SD rats (Control) were sacrificed, and colon tissues were analyzed for macrophage polarization. b Immunohistochemical staining against key macrophage M1/M2 polarization markers iNOS/CD206, c histopathology score, d mRNA levels of tight junction-associated protein ZO-1, e pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin IL-1β and IL-6 released by M1 macrophages, and f anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 released by M2 macrophages. Scale bar for hematoxylin staining, 200 μm. Scale bar for immunohistochemistry staining, 50 μm. n = 5 biologically independent rats per group. g–k Fecal samples collected on day 5 from colitic SD rats were analyzed for gut microbiota by sequencing the V4 region of the 16 S rRNA gene. Dex-P/NPA2 treatment increased g bacterial richness (observed operational taxonomic units, OTUs), h Chao diversity, and h Shannon diversity in colitic SD rats compared with colitic SD rats in the Dex-P/PBS group and the untreated colitic rats (Control). n = 5 biologically independent rats per group. i A clustered heatmap of UniFrac values for measuring gut microbiota β-diversity illustrated that colitic SD rats receiving Dex-P/NPA2 and healthy SD rats were clustered more closely, suggesting more similar bacterial compositions. The color of the square shows the distance of evolution between each two samples. The range of blue to red corresponds to close to far distance, and the bigger index means the greater differences between samples. j Taxonomic bacterial distribution histogram and k clustered heatmap based on the relative abundance (Log10) of the gut microbiota at the family level are presented. The upper longitudinal clustering indicates the similarity of gut microbiota among individual SD rats. The closer distance and shorter branch length indicate more similar gut microbiota between the SD rats. Data were presented as mean ± SD. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 (Ordinary one-way ANOVA). Source data are provided as a Source Data file for Fig. 5c–k.

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