Our recent report illustrated the unitedly advantageous effects of postbiotic
butyrate on active
vitamin D3 (VD3)-orchestrated innate immunity in Salmonella
colitis. There is growing awareness that
aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) can regulate intestinal immunity and barrier function, through modulating cecal
inflammation and junction
proteins expression. Hence, we researched the participation of AhR-regulated tight junction functions on the united effects of
butyrate and VD3 on intestinal defense to
Salmonella infection. Salmonella
colitis model were elicited by oral gavage with 1 × 108 CFU of a S. typhimurium wild-type strain SL1344 in C57BL/6 mice. Before and after the
colitis generation, mice were fed with
butyrate and/or VD3 by oral gavage in the absence or presence of
intraperitoneal injection of AhR inhibitor for 4 and 7 days, respectively. We observed that
butyrate and VD3 could concert together to reduce the invasion of Salmonella in
colitis mice by enhancing cecal
cytokines and
antimicrobial peptides expression and reducing
zonulin and
claudin-2 protein expressions in mucosal
stain, compared to single treatment, which were counteracted by AhR inhibitor. It implies that AhR is involved in the united effects of
butyrate and VD3 on the intestinal defense to
Salmonella infection in
colitis mice. This study discloses the promising alternative
therapy of combining postbiotic and VD3 for invasive
Salmonellosis and the pivotal role of AhR pathway.