Cholic acid supplementation alleviated gut–liver injury and remodeled the gut microbiota in Escherichia coli ‐infected mice

BACKGROUND: Pathogen infection contributes to diarrhea, intestinal inflammation, and even death of animals. Thus, finding efficient drugs for alleviating or preventing bacterial infection is quite urgent for animal production. Bile acids have been recognized as important signaling molecules to regulate gut-liver homeostasis. Here, we investigated the potential effect of cholic acid (CA) on intestinal and hepatic injury in Escherichia coli (E. coli)-infected mice and elucidated the underlying mechanism. RESULTS: ) inhibited intestinal and hepatic inflammation and oxidative stress as indicated by reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased antioxidant enzymes. CA also protected intestinal integrity and liver morphology against E. coli infection, and enhanced short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels in a dose-responsive manner. Furthermore, CA changed the microbial composition and structure. Differential analysis showed that E. coli infection increased the abundance of potential pathogens, including Escherichia-Shigella and Alloprevotella, while reducing beneficial SCFA-associated bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Enterorhabdus. CA treatment partially restored the proportion of Gordonibacter and Enterorhabdus, and reduced opportunistic pathogens such as Alloprevotella and Brevibacterium. More importantly, correlation analysis demonstrated that bacteria, including Enterorhabdus, Marvinbryantia, and Gordonibacter, were negatively correlated with serum cytokines and injury biomarkers, whereas only Brachybacterium showed a positive correlation with serum IL-6, and negative association with SCFAs. CONCLUSION: Collectively, these findings indicate that CA alleviates E. coli-induced intestinal and hepatic injury, which may be associated with gut microbiota remodeling. Our study highlights that CA can serve as a potential intervention for treating bacterial infection. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.