Long-term potassium-competitive acid blockers administration causes microbiota changes in rats

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Pharmacology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Vonoprazan is a new potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB) with rapid and long-lasting acid suppression.
• While vonoprazan-antibiotic regimens impact gut microbiota, the effect of vonoprazan alone remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of vonoprazan monotherapy on gut microbiota composition in a rat model.
• To determine if short-term or long-term vonoprazan administration affects gut microbial diversity and abundance.

Main Methods:

• A 12-week prospective randomized trial involving 18 Wistar rats divided into three groups: control, 12-week vonoprazan, and 4-week vonoprazan followed by 8 weeks off.
• Metagenomic shotgun sequencing of fecal samples at baseline and week 12 to analyze gut microbiota composition.

Main Results:

• Vonoprazan administration (both short and long-term) resulted in lower Pielou's evenness index compared to controls.
• Significant differences in beta diversity were observed across all groups.
• Changes in relative bacterial abundance were noted at phylum, genus, and family levels, including decreases in Actinobacteria and Verrucomicrobia, and increases in Bacteroidales, Prevotella, and Lactobacillaceae.

Conclusions:

• Vonoprazan monotherapy significantly impacts gut microbiota composition and bacterial relative abundance.
• The study provides a detailed delineation of how vonoprazan affects the gut microbiome at various taxonomic levels.