Recently, the team of Associate Professor Ming Li from the School of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University, and Professor Ye Tian from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University collaborated to publish a research paper online in the journal *Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys* (commonly known as "Red Journal") entitled "Probiotic Consortia Protect the Intestine Against Radiation Injury by Improving Intestinal Epithelial Homeostasis" (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.03.003).
Radiation-induced intestinal injury is a common and severe side effect of radiotherapy, and there is currently a lack of effective treatment methods. Studies have shown that intestinal microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining intestinal health and regulating immune responses. Probiotics have attracted much attention due to their potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Therefore, this study explored the protective effect of probiotic consortia on radiation-induced intestinal injury in mice and its related metabolic mechanisms. The results demonstrated that probiotic consortia improved the survival rate of mice subjected to a lethal dose of total abdominal irradiation, enhanced clinical scores, and alleviated mucosal damage. In addition, probiotic consortia promoted the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells, strengthened the integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier, and regulated redox imbalance and inflammatory responses in irradiated mice. Notably, probiotic consortia induced the reconstruction of intestinal microbiota composition, particularly enriching short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria. Metabolomic analysis revealed significant metabolic changes associated with probiotic consortia, including an elevation in the levels of anti-inflammatory and radioprotective metabolites. These findings not only reveal the potential role of probiotic consortia in promoting the recovery of radiation-induced intestinal injury but also provide a new perspective for the development of probiotic-based therapeutic strategies for radiation-induced intestinal injury.
Figure 1. Dysbiosis of gut microbiota plays an important role in radiation-induced intestinal injury.
Ph.D. candidate Liwei Xie and Master's candidate Haiyan Lu from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, together with Master's candidate Linfeng Tang from the School of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University, are the co-first authors of this paper. Professor Ye Tian from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and Associate Professor Ming Li from the School of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University, are the co-corresponding authors. This research work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Program, and other funding sources.