Hyperbaric oxygen therapy alleviates intestinal dysfunction following traumatic brain injury via m6A regulation.

Abstract

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy can attenuate neurological impairment after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and alleviate intestinal dysfunction. However, the role and mechanism of HBO therapy in intestinal dysfunction following TBI remain unclear. Herein, by establishing a mouse model of controlled cortical impact (CCI), we found that HBO therapy reduced histopathological lesions and decreased the levels of inflammatory and oedema proteins in the intestinal tissues of mice 10 days after TBI. We also showed that HBO therapy improved microbiome abundance and probiotic (particularly g_Bifidobacterium) colonisation in mice post-CCI. Then, we identified that the m⁶A level imcreased notably in injured cortical tissue of CCI+HBO group compared with the CCI group following CCI. Thus, our results suggested that HBO therapy could alleviate TBI-induced intestinal dysfunction and m⁶A might participate in this regulation process, which provides new insights for exploring the specific mechanism and targets of HBO in the treatment of intestinal dysfunction after TBI, thereby improving the therapeutic effect of HBO.