Glutamine alters the response to stress in mice with diet-induced obesity in a sex-dependent manner
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Rationale
Patients with class III obesity often suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) while obesity and IBS share common pathophysiological mechanisms such as altered intestinal barrier function and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Oral glutamine (Gln) supplementation previously showed beneficial effects on gut barrier function in a sex-dependent manner and reduced abdominal pain in IBS patients. Thus, we assessed the sex-dependent response to an oral Gln supplementation in mice with diet-induced obesity and subjected to a chronic restraint stress to mimic IBS.
Methods
Male (M) and female (F) C57BL/6 mice received a high fat diet (HFD; 60% kcal from fat) during 14 weeks (W14) and were subjected or not to a restraint stress (S) for the 4 last days. From W12, mice received or not Gln in drinking water (2g/kg/day; n=12/group). Plasma corticosterone, body composition, glucose tolerance (OGTT), intestinal permeability, inflammatory markers in colonic and white adipose tissues, cecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) composition have been assessed. Within each sex, groups were compared by Kruskal-Wallis test or a 1-way ANOVA test.
Results
In M-HFD mice, chronic restraint stress was associated with a better glucose tolerance (–15,46% AUC) and a reduced fasting glycemia that was not observed in F-HFD mice. Gln partially prevented body weight loss, reduced plasma resistin, plasma corticosterone and colonic permeability in female stressed obese mice. In male stressed obese mice, Gln limited lean mass loss, reduced colonic permeability and Ccl2 mRNA level in the subcutaneous adipose tissue. Chronic restraint stress and Gln modified cecal microbiota in both sexes but cecal SCFA composition only in male mice. In particular, stress induced an increased abundance of Pseudomonadota in male mice that was partially restored after Gln supplementation. In addition, cecal total SCFA were reduced in Gln-supplemented stressed HFD male mice compared to unstressed HFD mice. In female HFD mice, stress associated to Gln supplementation increased the abundance of Thermodesulfobacteriota and reduced colonic expression of Cxcr3 mRNA.
Conclusions
Chronic restraint stress has beneficial effects on glycemia control in male HFD mice without additive effects of Gln supplementation. By contrast, Gln reduces stress-induced corticosterone level and body weight loss only in females. These data, as well as the differential impact of Gln on intestinal permeability and gut microbiota according to the sex, deserves further investigations to decipher the underlying mechanisms.
