General Anesthesia Alters the Diversity and Composition of the Intestinal Microbiota in Mice

Dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota has been shown to result in altered immune responses and increased susceptibility to infection; as such, the state of the intestinal microbiome may have profound implications in the perioperative setting. In this first-in-class study, we used 16s ribosomal RNA sequencing and analysis in a mouse model of general anesthesia to investigate the effects of volatile anesthetics on the diversity and composition of the intestinal microbiome. After 4-hour exposure to isoflurane, we observed a decrease in bacterial diversity. Taxonomic alterations included depletion of several commensal bacteria including Clostridiales. These data identify volatile anesthetics as potential contributors to microbial dysbiosis in the postoperative patient. Accepted for publication October 17, 2018. Funding:This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 GM120519-01). The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's website (https://ift.tt/KegmMq). Reprints will not be available from the authors. Address correspondence to Cyrus D. Mintz, MD, PhD, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 720 Rutland Ave, Ross Bldg 370, Baltimore, MD 21205. Address e-mail to Cmintz2@jhmi.edu. © 2018 International Anesthesia Research Society

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