Fructose Overconsumption Aggravates Intestinal Inflammation and Gut Dysbiosis in a Mouse Model of Allergic Asthma 9077

Abstract Description Previously we reported that a high-sucrose, comprising fructose and glucose, aggravates airway inflammation on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic asthma. Here, we evaluated the specific impact of a high-fructose diet (HFrD) on allergic asthma. Mice were divided into four groups based on diet and OVA treatment: i) healthy control (HC), ii) HFrD, iii) OVA and iv) OVA+HFrD. Mice were fed either HFrD (50% fructose + 10% corn starch) or a control diet (60% corn starch) for 8 weeks. Asthma was induced by sensitization and aerosol challenges of OVA. HFrD did not alter body weight, food intake, fat accumulation and fasting glucose levels in either OVA treated or non-treated groups. However, histological analysis revealed that HFrD significantly increased intestinal inflammation scores in OVA-treated mice, marked by immune cell infiltration,. Fecal microbiome analysis showed that HFrD slightly increased the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and Proteobacteria abundance solely in OVA+HFrD mice. Moreover, HFrD promoted the growth of pathogenic bacteria, such as Clostridium perfringens, Helicobacter typhlonius, and Staphylococcus ureilyticus, in OVA+HFrD mice. Plasma metabolite profiles were largely unchanged by HFrD, except for moderate increase in uric acid and butyrylcarnitine. These findings suggest that excessive fructose intake exacerbates intestinal inflammation and gut dysbiosis, potentially worsening allergic asthma severity. Funding Sources This research was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) RT-2023-00208776, RS-2024-00351492, RS-2023-00221563. Topic Categories Mucosal and Regional Immunology (MUC)