Ischemic Stroke Impacts the Gut Microbiome, Ileal Epithelial and Immune Homeostasis

Ischemic stroke critically impacts neurovascular homeostasis, potentially resulting in neurological disorders. However, the mechanisms through which stroke-induced inflammation modifies the molecular and metabolic circuits, particularly in ileal epithelial cells (iECs), currently remain elusive. Using multiomic approaches, we illustrated that stroke impaired the ileal microbiome and associated metabolites, leading to increased inflammatory signals and altered metabolites, potentially deteriorating the iEC homeostasis. Bulk transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling demonstrated that stroke enhanced fatty acid oxidation while reducing the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in iECs within the first day after stroke. Intriguingly, single-cell RNA sequencing analysis revealed that stroke dysregulated cell-type-specific gene responses within iECs and reduced frequencies of goblet and tuft cells. Additionally, stroke augmented interleukin-17A⁺ γδ T cells but decreased CD4⁺ T cells in the ileum. Collectively, our findings provide a comprehensive overview of stroke-induced intestinal dysbiosis and unveil responsive gene programming within iECs with implications for disease development.