Arabinoxylan and xylo-oligosaccharides regulate gastric microbiota and attenuate gastric carcinogenesis in A4gnt-knockout mice

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer is frequently associated with gastric mucosal microbiota dysbiosis.Modulating microbial dysbiosis may therefore represent a promising strategy for preventing gastric carcinogenesis.Arabinoxylan (AX) and xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) are dietary prebiotics with potential effects on gut microbial communities; however, their effects on the gastric microbiota and gastric lesions remain unclear.AIM To investigate the effects of AX and XOS on the gastric microbiota and gastric lesions in A4gnt-knockout (KO) mice.METHODS Ten-week-old A4gnt-KO mice received AX or XOS via intragastric gavage daily for 20 weeks.Wild-type (WT) mice and untreated KO mice served as controls.Gastric tissues were collected for histopathological examination, and gastric microbiota composition was assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Microbial diversity, community structure, differential taxa, and predicted Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functions were analyzed. RESULTSAmong untreated KO mice, 80.0% developed gastric tumors, whereas no tumors were detected in the KO + AX group.Both AX and XOS significantly reduced pathological scores (P < 0.05).AX substantially remodeled microbial diversity, community structure, cancer-associated bacterial taxa, and predicted α-glucoside transport toward the WT profile, whereas XOS produced only partial improvements.Predicted Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional profiles showed differences in multiple metabolic pathways among the experimental groups.Compared with XOS, AX induced a more pronounced remodeling of the gastric 4 / 38 microbial functional profile toward the WT profile.CONCLUSION AX produced more pronounced alleviation of gastric dysplasia and malignant lesions than XOS and may have potential as a dietary prebiotic for gastric cancer prevention.