Influence of Fluconazole Administration on Gut Microbiome, Intestinal Barrier, and Immune Response in Mice

Abstract

showed a remarkable reduction in the fluconazole-treated group compared with the control group. In the mycobiome, the relative abundance of Ascomycota was significantly decreased and Mucoromycota was significantly increased in the intestine of mice treated with fluconazole compared to the control group. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) results showed that the relative gene expression of ZO-1, occludin, MyD88, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 was decreased in the fluconazole-treated group compared to the control. Serum levels of IL-2, LZM, and IgM were significantly increased, while the IgG level was considerably downregulated in the fluconazole-treated compared to the control group. These results suggest that the administration of fluconazole can influence the gut microbiota and that a healthy gut microbiome is important for the regulation of the host immune responses.