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Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide on the Microbiome: From Toxicity to Therapy
Open accessAbstract
Significance: Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), an important regulator of physiology and health, helps resolve inflammation and promotes tissue repair in the gastrointestinal tract. Recent Advances: Gut microbiota live as a multispecies biofilm in close interaction with the upper mucus layer lining the epithelium. The relative abundance, spatial organization, and function of these microorganisms affect a broad range of health outcomes. This article provides a state-of-the-art review of our understanding of the cross talk between H 2 S, the gut microbiota, and health. H 2 S can have toxic or therapeutic effects, depending on its concentration and source. When produced at excessive concentrations by local microbiota, H 2 S may cause mucus disruption and inflammation and contribute to development of cancer. In contrast, low levels of endogenous or exogenous H 2 S directly stabilize mucus layers, prevent fragmentation and adherence of the microbiota biofilm to the epithelium, inhibit the release of invasive pathobionts, and help resolve inflammation and tissue injury. Although scarce, research findings suggest that dietary H 2 S obtained from plants or ingestion of the H 2 S precursor, L-cysteine, may also modulate the abundance and function of microbiota. Critical Issues: A critical issue is the lack of understanding of the metagenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic alterations that characterize the interactions between H 2 S and gut microbiota to shape health outcomes. Future Directions: The ambivalent roles of H 2 S in the gut offer a fertile ground for research on such critical issues. The findings will improve our understanding of how H 2 S modulates the microbiota to affect body function and will help identify novel therapeutic strategies. Antioxid. Redox Signal . 36, 211–219.
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![FIG. 2. H2S donors maintain mucus barrier and microbiota biofilm integrity. Dysbiotic microbiota (red) in rats with DNBS colitis exhibit abnormal biofilm fragmentation and adhesion to the host intestinal tissues (nuclei stained in blue), coinciding with the formation and invasion of pathobionts through the epithelial lining (A). Daily oral administration of an H2S donor (ATB-429; Antibe Therapeutics, Inc.) completely abolishes these defects by maintaining microbiota integrity and the mucus barrier, illustrated as the unstained shadow between microbiota (red) and host tissues (blue), and preventing the formation of invasive pathobionts (B). Bar = 50 μm [modified from the study by Buret et al. (7)]. DNBS, dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid.](/paper-figures/291f6b96640e42bb9e2838f15dea05fc/effects-of-hydrogen-sulfide-on-the-microbiome-from-toxicity-to-therapy-figure-2.jpg)
![FIG. 3. Oral administration of the H2S donor ATB-429 (50 mg/kg, twice daily, per os) reduces the severity of colitis and inhibits the translocation of commensal bacteria to the liver in C57Bl/6 mice with DNBS colitis, compared with mice given vehicle (veh) [modified from the study by Motta et al. (44)]. (A) Colitis (DNBS/veh) caused a significant granulocyte infiltration (indicated by an increase in MPO) compared with healthy mice (Healthy); treatment with ATB-429 (DNBS/ATB-429) significantly reduced MPO activity. (B) Colitis (DNBS/veh) caused significant microbial translocation to the liver (CFU counts per mL); treatment with ATB-429 (DNBS/ATB-429) reduced colitis-induced bacterial translocation; n = 8 mice per group. Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by Dunn's tests. *p < 0.05; ***p < 0.001. For detailed methodology, see Motta et al. (44). MPO, myeloperoxidase activity.](/paper-figures/99c537f5909f4ff5a393eb9d45574024/effects-of-hydrogen-sulfide-on-the-microbiome-from-toxicity-to-therapy-figure-3.jpg)
![FIG. 4. Production of pathobionts in colitis coincides with elevated iron intake by commensal microbiota bacteria. Administration of an H2S donor (ATB-429) reduces the intracellular iron content in fecal bacteria from mice with DNBS colitis. ATB-429 has iron-chelating properties [modified from Motta et al. (44)]. (A) Intracellular concentrations of iron in fecal microbiota (normalized to 1 g of feces) are significantly higher in microbiota from mice with colitis (DNBS) compared with those of control animals (vehicle, veh) and groups treated with ATB-429 (50 mg/kg, twice daily, per os); n = 8 mice per group. Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by Dunn's tests. ***p < 0.001. (B) H2S-relasing compounds have iron-chelating properties, at least in part, in a drug-selective manner. H2S-releasing ATB-429 (mesalamine linked to the donor ADT-OH), ATB-428 (to a lesser extent; mesalamine linked to the H2S donor TBZ), and the positive control iron chelator 2,2-bipyridil, but not mesalamine (5-ASA) or the TBZ H2S donor alone, have dramatic iron-chelating properties. Drugs were dissolved in bacterial media containing 100 μm of FeCl2. After 24 h, the remaining concentration of free iron measured by ferrozine spectrophotometry was markedly reduced in a positive control iron chelator (2,2-bipyridil) and in ATB-429, ATB-428, and ADT-OH, but not in TBZ and mesalamine (5-ASA); n = 3 to 9 duplicates per concentration of drugs. For detailed methodology, see Motta et al. (44).](/paper-figures/0c48bf4198104308b72a4f8048da9d08/effects-of-hydrogen-sulfide-on-the-microbiome-from-toxicity-to-therapy-figure-4.jpg)
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“However, H2S exhibits a dual effect, being cytoprotective at low concentrations but toxic at high concentrations [58].”
From Healthy Human Fecal Microbiota Transplantation into Mice Attenuates MPTP-Induced Neurotoxicity via AMPK/SOD2 Pathway (2023) · cites this paper as [58]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Buret, A. G., Allain, T., Motta, J.-P., & Wallace, J. L.
- Affiliations
- Host–Parasite Interactions Program, Inflammation Research Network, Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
- University of Calgary (CA)
- Inserm (FR)
- Venue
- Antioxidants & Redox Signaling
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-02
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 4-6
- Pages
- 211-219
- ISSN
- 1523-0864 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-7716
- PMC
- PMC8861923
- OpenAlex
- W3133888684
- Cited by
- 151
- References
- 81
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 23
- FWCI
- 6.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Antioxidants and Redox Signaling (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Sulfur Compounds in Biology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Helicobacter pylori-related gastroenterology studies
- Keywords
- hydrogen sulfide, gut microbiota, mucus layer, inflammation resolution, tissue repair, gastrointestinal cancer, pathobionts, cysteine, microbiota-metabolite interactions
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Hydrogen Sulfide, Proteomics, Gastrointestinal Tract, Microbiota
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