Response of gut microbiota and ileal transcriptome to inulin intervention in HFD induced obese mice

Inulin, as a dietary fiber, exerted prominent anti-obesity effects by modulating gut microbiota. However, the possible relationship and interplay of gut microbiome and function of distal intestine is still unclear now. This study aimed to investigate the possible targets of microbes and the related intestinal genes mediated by inulin. C57 BL/6 male mice were randomly allocated to chow diet (Chow) group, high-fat diet (HFD) group, and HFD supplemented with 3 % inulin (Inulin) group. Compared with HFD treatment, inulin supplementation significantly decreased the body weight, fat deposition, and fasting blood glucose level. In addition, mice treated with inulin had a remarkable alteration in the structure of cecal microbiota and transcriptomic profiling of ileum. In particular, inulin supplementation significantly reversed the HFD induced expression of Bacteroides, Allobaculum and nonrank_f_Bacteroidates_S24-7_group, and reversed the expression of genes belonging to phospholipase A2 (PLA2) family and cytochrome P450 (CYP450) family. In summary, inulin might alleviate HFD-induced fat deposition and metabolic disorders via regulating lipid metabolism of ileum, while the interaction between the sPLA2s and gut microbes might play important roles in the process.