Cited by 373Gut microbiota and healthGastrointestinal motility and disordersProbiotics and Fermented Foods

Changes in intestinal microbiota composition and metabolism coincide with increased intestinal permeability in young adults under prolonged physiological stress

Karl, J. Philip, Margolis, Lee M., Madslien, Elisabeth H., Murphy, Nancy E., Castellani, John W., Gundersen, Yngvar, Hoke, Allison V., Levangie, Michael W. +7 more·2017·American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology

Abstract

The magnitude, temporal dynamics, and physiological effects of intestinal microbiome responses to physiological stress are poorly characterized. This study used a systems biology approach and a multiple-stressor military training environment to determine the effects of physiological stress on intestinal microbiota composition and metabolic activity, as well as intestinal permeability (IP). Soldiers ( n = 73) were provided three rations per day with or without protein- or carbohydrate-based supplements during a 4-day cross-country ski-march (STRESS). IP was measured before and during STRESS. Blood and stool samples were collected before and after STRESS to measure inflammation, stool microbiota, and stool and plasma global metabolite profiles. IP increased 62 ± 57% (mean ± SD, P < 0.001) during STRESS independent of diet group and was associated with increased inflammation. Intestinal microbiota responses were characterized by increased α-diversity and changes in the relative abundance of >50% of identified genera, including increased abundance of less dominant taxa at the expense of more dominant taxa such as Bacteroides. Changes in intestinal microbiota composition were linked to 23% of metabolites that were significantly altered in stool after STRESS. Together, pre-STRESS Actinobacteria relative abundance and changes in serum IL-6 and stool cysteine concentrations accounted for 84% of the variability in the change in IP. Findings demonstrate that a multiple-stressor military training environment induced increases in IP that were associated with alterations in markers of inflammation and with intestinal microbiota composition and metabolism. Associations between IP, the pre-STRESS microbiota, and microbiota metabolites suggest that targeting the intestinal microbiota could provide novel strategies for preserving IP during physiological stress. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Military training, a unique model for studying temporal dynamics of intestinal barrier and intestinal microbiota responses to stress, resulted in increased intestinal permeability concomitant with changes in intestinal microbiota composition and metabolism. Prestress intestinal microbiota composition and changes in fecal concentrations of metabolites linked to the microbiota were associated with increased intestinal permeability. Findings suggest that targeting the intestinal microbiota could provide novel strategies for mitigating increases in intestinal permeability during stress.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1152/ajpgi.00066.2017

Cites

57 of 57 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Individuals who performed a 4-day cross-country ski-march in Arctic conditions had increased microbial diversity compared to controls.

    “An increase of microbial diversity was once again reported in individuals who performed a 4-day cross-country ski-march in Arctic conditions compared to controls, by (Karl et al., 2017), amongst other changes.”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Karl et al., 2017

  • Psychological stress, physical activity, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and antibiotic exposure are modifying factors for the gut microbiome.

    “Other modifying factors (Figure 1) include psychological stress33,34, physical activity35, tobacco use36, alcohol consumption37, and antibiotic exposure38, 39,40.”
  • A 4-day cross-country, military ski-march increased Verrucomicrobia abundance.

    “Second, a 4-days cross-country, military ski-march increased Verrucomicrobia abundance (Karl et al., 2017)”

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Karl, J. P., Margolis, L. M., Madslien, E. H., Murphy, N. E., Castellani, J. W., Gundersen, Y., Hoke, A. V., Levangie, M. W., Kumar, R., Chakraborty, N., Gautam, A., Hammamieh, R., Martini, S., Montain, S. J., & Pasiakos, S. M.
Affiliations
  • U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (US)
  • Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (NO)
  • United States Army (US)
  • Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (US)
Corresponding author
Karl, J. Philip
Venue
American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology
Published
2017-06-01
Volume
312
Issue
6
Pages
G559-G571
ISSN
  • 0193-1857 (ISSN-L)
  • 1522-1547
OpenAlex
W2600336120
Cited by
373
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 1
FWCI
11.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
  • Defense Health Agency
  • Norwegian Defense Research Establishment
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
Keywords
gut microbiota, intestinal permeability, physiological stress, military education, intestinal barrier, inflammation, microbiota metabolites, actinobacteria, Bacteroides, cysteine, interleukin-6, young adults
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Adolescent, Age Factors, Bacteria, Dietary Carbohydrates, Dietary Proteins, Energy Metabolism, Feces, Female, Humans, Intestinal Absorption, Intestinal Mucosa, Intestines, Male, Military Medicine, Norway, Nutritional Status, Permeability, Physical Endurance, Stress, Physiological, Time Factors, Inflammation Mediators, Systems Biology, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Metabolomics, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review