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Characterization of Gut-Thyroid Axis in Alcohol Use Disorder: Role of Gut-Dysfunction, Pro-Inflammatory Responses, and Dysregulation in Thyroid-Associated Hormones
Sagaram, M.; Royer, A.J.; Hu, H.; Rajhans, A.; Parthasarathy, R.; Krishnasamy, S.S.; Mokshagundam, S.P.; Kong, M.; Schwandt, M.L.; Parajuli, D.; Cave, M.C.; Vatsalya, V. Illustration of Gut–Thyroid Axis in Alcohol Use Disorder: Interplay of Gut Dysfunction, Pro-Inflammatory Responses, and Thyroid Function. Cells2022, 11, 3100.
Sagaram, M.; Royer, A.J.; Hu, H.; Rajhans, A.; Parthasarathy, R.; Krishnasamy, S.S.; Mokshagundam, S.P.; Kong, M.; Schwandt, M.L.; Parajuli, D.; Cave, M.C.; Vatsalya, V. Illustration of Gut–Thyroid Axis in Alcohol Use Disorder: Interplay of Gut Dysfunction, Pro-Inflammatory Responses, and Thyroid Function. Cells 2022, 11, 3100.
Sagaram, M.; Royer, A.J.; Hu, H.; Rajhans, A.; Parthasarathy, R.; Krishnasamy, S.S.; Mokshagundam, S.P.; Kong, M.; Schwandt, M.L.; Parajuli, D.; Cave, M.C.; Vatsalya, V. Illustration of Gut–Thyroid Axis in Alcohol Use Disorder: Interplay of Gut Dysfunction, Pro-Inflammatory Responses, and Thyroid Function. Cells2022, 11, 3100.
Sagaram, M.; Royer, A.J.; Hu, H.; Rajhans, A.; Parthasarathy, R.; Krishnasamy, S.S.; Mokshagundam, S.P.; Kong, M.; Schwandt, M.L.; Parajuli, D.; Cave, M.C.; Vatsalya, V. Illustration of Gut–Thyroid Axis in Alcohol Use Disorder: Interplay of Gut Dysfunction, Pro-Inflammatory Responses, and Thyroid Function. Cells 2022, 11, 3100.
Abstract
(1) Background: Heavy and chronic alcohol intake causes altered gut-permeability and dysfunction; and exhibits a unique pro-inflammatory state. Thyroid-associated hormones and proteins may be dysregulated by alcohol administration; however, the impact of altered gut-derived changes on thyroid function is unclear. This study investigated the role of gut-dysfunction and pro-inflammatory activity on thyroid function in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). (2) Methods: Male and female AUD patients (n=44) were grouped as Gr.1 with normal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (n=28, 0.8≤TSH≤3 mIU/L); and Gr.2 with clinically elevated TSH levels (n=16, TSH> 3 mIU/l). Demographics, drinking measures, comprehensive metabolic panel, and candidate thyroid markers (TSH, circulating triiodothyronine [T3] and free thyroxine [fT4]) were tested. Plasma-derived gut-dysfunction associated markers (lipopolysaccharide [LPS], LPS-binding protein [LBP], and LPS-induced pathogen-associated protein [CD14]), and cytokine profile (IL1-β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, PAI-1) were analyzed and compared with the thyroid, demographic, and drinking markers. (3) Results: Both groups presented with a borderline overweight category of BMI. Gr.2 presented with numerically higher level of chronic and heavy drinking patterns vs Gr.1. fT4 levels were elevated while T3 was within normal limits in both the groups. Gut-dysfunction markers LBP and CD14 were numerically elevated in Gr.2 vs Gr.1 suggesting subtle ongoing changes; however, the difference was not statistically significant. All pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in Gr.2 among IL1-, MCP-1, and PAI-1. Gr.2 showed a strong and statistically significant effect of gut-immune-pituitary response (r=0.896, p=0.002) on TSH levels in a multivariate regression model with LBP, CD14, and PAI-1 levels as upstream variables; this assessment was not significant in Gr.1. In addition, AUROC analysis demonstrated that many of the cytokines strongly predicted TSH in Gr.2, including IL-6 (area=0.774, p<0.001) and TNF- (area=0.708, p=0.017) among others. This was not observed in Gr.1. Gr.2 demonstrated elevated fT4 as well as TSH, which suggests that there was subclinical thyroiditis with underlying CNS dysfunction and lack of a negative feedback loop. (4) Conclusions: These findings reveal the toxic effects of heavy and chronic drinking that play a pathological role in thyroid gland dysregulation employing the gut-brain axis. These results also strongly emphasize potential directions to strongly consider thyroid dysregulation in the overall medical management of AUD.
Keywords
alcohol use disorder; gut-dysfunction; gut-thyroid axis; pro-inflammatory cytokines; thyroid-associated hormones
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
