Moderate-intensity exercise affects gut microbiome

Physical exercise is commonly regarded as a protective factor in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recent studies have reported that exercise can alter gut microbiota via certain mechanisms. Here, we focused on the relationships among exercise, gut microbiota and cardiac function after myocardial infarction (MI). Four-week-old C57BL/6J mice were exercised on a treadmill for 4 weeks before they underwent left coronary artery ligation. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography. Their gut microbiome was evaluated post-exercise and post-myocardial infarction by 16S rRNA gene sequencing on the Illumina HiSeq platform. Exercise training inhibited the cardiac output and stroke volume decline in post-MI mice. In addition, physical exercise and MI led to alterations in gut microbial composition. Exercise training increased the relative abundance of Butyricimonas and Akkermansia, and the key OTUs, which included 24 lineages, mainly from Bacteroidetes, Barnesiella, Helicobacter, Parabacteroides, Poryhyromonadaceae, Ruminococcaceae and Ureaplasma, were closely related with exercise and cardiac function. The results suggested that exercise training improved cardiac function to some extent, altered gut microbiota, and may be a potential target for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.