Acute exposure to simulated high-altitude hypoxia alters gut microbiota in mice

Gut microbiota bears adaptive potential to different environments, but little is known regarding its responses to acute high-altitude exposure. This study aimed to evaluate the microbial changes after acute exposure to simulated high-altitude hypoxia. C57BL/6 J mice were divided into hypoxia and normoxia groups. The hypoxia group was exposed to a simulated altitude of 5500 m for 24 h above sea level. The normoxia group was maintained in low altitude of 10 m above sea level. Colonic microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA V4 gene sequencing. Compared with the normoxia group, Shannon, Simpson and Akkermansia were significantly increased, while Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio and Bifidobacterium were significantly decreased in the hypoxia group. The hypoxia group exhibited lower mobile element containing and higher potentially pathogenic and stress-tolerant phenotypes than those in the normoxia group. Functional analysis indicated that environmental information processing was significantly lower, metabolism, cellular processes and organismal systems were significantly higher in the hypoxia group than those in the normoxia group. In conclusion, acute exposure to simulated high-altitude hypoxia alters gut microbiota diversity and composition, which may provide a potential target to alleviate acute high-altitude diseases.