Dataset Information

Altered Fecal Microbiotas and Organic Acid Concentrations Indicate Possible Gut Dysbiosis in University Rugby Players: An Observational Study.

ABSTRACT: Gut eubiosis is essential for the host's health. In athletes, the gut microbiota can be altered by several factors, including diets. While eubiotic gut microbiota in elite rugby players has been reported, our survey found that university rugby players suffered from loose stools and frequent urgency to defecate. To establish the causes of the condition, the microbiota and the concentrations of organic acids in fecal samples of university male rugby players (URP) were analyzed and compared with those of age-matching, non-rugby playing males (control). Body mass indices were significantly (p < 0.05) different between groups. Chao1 index was significant (p < 0.05) lower in URP than in control. The relative abundances of phyla Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were significantly (p < 0.05) higher and lower, respectively, in URP than in control. Potential pathobiont genera Collinsella, Enterobacter, and Haemophilus were significantly (p < 0.05) abundant, whereas beneficial Akkermansia was lower (p < 0.05) in URP than in control. Succinate, a potential causative of gut inflammation, was five-fold higher in URP than in controls. Our findings all but confirmed that the dysbiotic status of gut in URP.

SUBMITTER: Morishima S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8400784 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Altered Fecal Microbiotas and Organic Acid Concentrations Indicate Possible Gut Dysbiosis in University Rugby Players: An Observational Study.

Morishima So S Oda Naoko N Ikeda Hiromi H Segawa Tomohiro T Oda Machi M Tsukahara Takamitsu T Kawase Yasuharu Y Takagi Tomohisa T Naito Yuji Y Fujibayashi Mami M Inoue Ryo R

Microorganisms 20210809 8

Gut eubiosis is essential for the host's health. In athletes, the gut microbiota can be altered by several factors, including diets. While eubiotic gut microbiota in elite rugby players has been reported, our survey found that university rugby players suffered from loose stools and frequent urgency to defecate. To establish the causes of the condition, the microbiota and the concentrations of organic acids in fecal samples of university male rugby players (URP) were analyzed and compared with th ...[more]

PMID: 34442766

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Project description:Rugby players may repeatedly incur high-impact collisions that could predispose them to neurodegenerative conditions but the processes underlying the heightened risk are currently unclear. This project investigates whether the proteome of plasma extracellular vesicles (EV) could carry putative diagnostic biomarkers to indicate differences in risk to neurodegenerative conditions across a rugby playing career. Twenty-four males were recruited, including eight academy players (18 ± 1 y), eight professional rugby players (33 ± 5 y) with >10-year rugby career and eight CrossFit athletes (32 ± 5 y) with no history of collision-related sports injuries. Membrane-bound particles (i.e. EV) were enriched from plasma using hyper-porous strong-anion exchange magnetic microparticles and tryptic peptides were analysed using nano-flow liquid chromatography and high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Differences in protein abundance were investigated by one-way analysis of variance (with correction for multiple testing) after label free quantitation. In total, 449 proteins were confidently identified (false discovery rate; FDR <1 %) and gene ontology profiling confirmed 414 of these proteins were of EV origin. One-way ANOVA highlighted 128 significantly (P<0.05, q<0.02) different proteins across the three participant groups, of which 31 proteins were specific to professional rugby players. Seven of these proteins (APOA1, APOM, CLUS, BIP, VCAM1, NID1 and MMP9) which were depleted and one protein ZPI which was elevated have previously recognised roles in neurodegenerative processes. In conclusion, non-targeted analysis highlighted that proteins associated with neuroprotection were specifically depleted in the plasma EV proteome of long-serving professional rugby players compared to younger academy rugby players or age-matched cross-fit athletes that did not have a history of collision-related sports injuries. Our findings shed new light on processes affected by a professional rugby playing career, further application of this type of analysis could be used to develop biomarker panels useful for predicting at-risk athletes or for guiding treatment interventions.

Project description:The recognition, diagnosis and management of mild traumatic brain injuries are difficult and confusing. It is unclear how the severity and number of injuries sustained relate to brain injuries, such as diffuse axonal injury, diffuse vascular injury and progressive neurodegeneration. Advances in neuroimaging techniques enable the investigation of neuropathologies associated with acute and long-term effects of injury. Head injuries are the most commonly reported injury seen during professional rugby. There is increased vigilance for the immediate effects of these injuries in matches, but there has been surprisingly little research investigating the longer-term effects of rugby participation. Here, we present a longitudinal observational study investigating the relationship of exposure to rugby participation and sub-acute head injuries in professional adult male and female rugby union and league players using advanced MRI. Diffusion tensor imaging and susceptibility weighted imaging was used to assess white matter structure and evidence of axonal and diffuse vascular injury. We also studied changes in brain structure over time using Jacobian Determinant statistics extracted from serial volumetric imaging. We tested 41 male and 3 female adult elite rugby players, of whom 21 attended study visits after a head injury, alongside 32 non-sporting controls, 15 non-collision-sport athletic controls and 16 longitudinally assessed controls. Eighteen rugby players participated in the longitudinal arm of the study, with a second visit at least 6 months after their first scan. Neuroimaging evidence of either axonal injury or diffuse vascular injury was present in 23% (10/44) of players. In the non-acutely injured group of rugby players, abnormalities of fractional anisotropy and other diffusion measures were seen. In contrast, non-collision-sport athletic controls were not classified as showing abnormalities. A group level contrast also showed evidence of sub-acute injury using diffusion tensor imaging in rugby players. Examination of longitudinal imaging revealed unexpected reductions in white matter volume in the elite rugby players studied. These changes were not related to self-reported head injury history or neuropsychological test scores and might indicate excess neurodegeneration in white matter tracts affected by injury. Taken together, our findings suggest an association of participation in elite adult rugby with changes in brain structure. Further well-designed large-scale studies are needed to understand the impact of both repeated sports-related head impacts and head injuries on brain structure, and to clarify whether the abnormalities we have observed are related to an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease and impaired neurocognitive function following elite rugby participation.

Dataset Information

Altered Fecal Microbiotas and Organic Acid Concentrations Indicate Possible Gut Dysbiosis in University Rugby Players: An Observational Study.

Publications

Altered Fecal Microbiotas and Organic Acid Concentrations Indicate Possible Gut Dysbiosis in University Rugby Players: An Observational Study.

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