Citation: Cuixia Zheng, Yueyue Kong, Xinxin Liu, Mengya Niu, Shuang Li, Yang Liu, Lei Wang, Chen Hong. Oral administration of Bacillus spores for mitigation of radiation-induced intestinal injury by regulating gut microbiota[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(6): 111422. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111422 shu

Oral administration of Bacillus spores for mitigation of radiation-induced intestinal injury by regulating gut microbiota

Cuixia Zheng ^{a, c} ,
Yueyue Kong ^d ,
Xinxin Liu ^b ,
Mengya Niu ^b ,
Shuang Li ^a ,
Yang Liu ^{a, *,} ,
Lei Wang ^{b, *,} ,
Chen Hong ^{a, *,}

a.
Translational medicine Center, Huaihe hospital of Henan University, Kaifeng 475000, China
b.
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
c.
Department of Pharmacy, Huaihe hospital of Henan University, Kaifeng 475000, China
d.
Department of Pharmacy, Xinjiang Aksu First People’s Hospital, Aksu 843000, China

hhyyqxk@163.com

wanglei1@zzu.edu.cn

hongchenbest@163.com

Received Date: 20 March 2025
Revised Date: 3 June 2025
Accepted Date: 6 June 2025
Available Online: 6 June 2025

Figures(5)

Radiation-induced gastrointestinal toxicity during abdominal/pelvic radiotherapy for solid malignancies remains a global clinical challenge, with current radioprotective agents demonstrating suboptimal efficacy and systemic toxicity. This study systematically investigates the radioprotective efficacy and mechanisms of purified spores derived from three clinically approved Bacillus species (B. coagulans, B. subtilis, and B. licheniformis). All the three spores exhibit significantly superior X-ray resistance and colonization efficiency to their parent probiotics. Based on this, it is found that these spores significantly reduce X-ray induced injury in intestine and colon tissues by rescuing radiation-induced crypts/villi damage, preventing apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells, alleviating inflammation level and enhancing the intestinal barrier functions. Moreover, 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing results demonstrate that Bacillus spores can inhibit harmful bacteria while increase relative abundance of probiotics, especially Lactobacillus. Consequently, oral administration of these spores obviously alleviates bodyweight loss and promotes weight gain of mice received total abdominal X-ray radiation, among which mice in the BCS (spores of B. coagulans) group achieves full bodyweight recovery. This work may provide promising radioprotectants for efficiently attenuating radiation-induced gastrointestinal syndrome.
- Probiotics spores,
- Radiation-induced intestinal injury,
- Oral administration,
- Radioprotection,
- Gut microbiota
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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142