Whole blood resuscitation restores intestinal perfusion and influences gut microbiome diversity

OBJECTIVE: Gut dysbiosis, an imbalance in the gut microbiome, occurs after trauma, which may be ameliorated with transfusion. We hypothesized that gut hypoperfusion following trauma causes dysbiosis and that whole blood (WB) resuscitation mitigates these effects. METHODS: Anesthetized rats underwent sham (S; laparotomy only, n = 6); multiple injuries (T; laparotomy, liver and skeletal muscle crush injuries, and femur fracture, n = 5); multiple injuries and 40% hemorrhage (H; n = 7); and multiple injuries, hemorrhage, and WB resuscitation (R; n = 7), which was given as 20% estimated blood volume from donor rats 1 hour posttrauma. Baseline cecal mesenteric tissue oxygen (O₂) concentration was measured following laparotomy and at 1 hour and 2 hours posttrauma. Fecal samples were collected preinjury and at euthanasia (2 hours). 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on purified DNA, and diversity and phylogeny were analyzed with QIIME (Knight Lab, La Jolla, CA; Caporaso Lab, Flagstaff, AZ) using the Greengenes 16S rRNA database (operational taxonomic units; 97% similarity). α and β diversities were estimated using observed species metrics. Permutational analysis of variance was performed for overall significance. RESULTS: In H rats, an average decline of 36% ± 3.6% was seen in the mesenteric O₂ concentration at 1 hour without improvement by 2 hours postinjury, which was reversed following resuscitation at 2 hours postinjury (4.1% ± 3.1% difference from baseline). There was no change in tissue O₂ concentration in the S or T rats. β Diversity differed among groups for all measured indices except Bray-Curtis, with the spatial median of the S and R rats more similar compared with S and H rats (p < 0.05). While there was no difference in α diversity found among the groups, indices were significantly correlated with mesenteric O₂ concentration. Members of the family Enterobacteriaceae were significantly enriched in only 2 hours. CONCLUSION: Mesenteric perfusion after trauma and hemorrhage is restored with WB resuscitation, which influences β diversity of the gut microbiome. Whole blood resuscitation may also mitigate the effects of hemorrhage on intestinal dysbiosis, thereby influencing outcomes.