The Effect of the AQP1 Gene Knockout on the Diversity, Composition and Function of Gut Microbiota in Mice with Heart Failure.

This study aims to elucidate the impact of AQP1 on cardiac function and the intestinal microbiota in mice with chronic heart failure and to further investigate the broad effects of AQP1 on the gut microbiota composition in these mice. AQP1 knockout mice were used as the experimental group, with wild-type mice serving as the control group. The study evaluated the effects of AQP1 on various physiological parameters, including blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac function, cardiac color Doppler ultrasound, and 24 h urine collection. Additionally, the high-throughput sequencing of gut microbiota was performed to identify key microbial communities. The deletion of the AQP1 gene did not significantly alter key cardiovascular metrics such as systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean blood pressure (MBP), or left ventricular mass (LV mass). However, we found that AQP1 knockout affected 24 h urine output in mice. Echocardiography results showed that AQP1 expression influenced LV mass, LVAW; d, and LVPW; s. Moreover, substantial differences were observed in the intestinal microbiota profiles between AQP1 knockout mice with heart failure and their wild-type counterparts. These findings suggest that AQP1 may contribute to cardiac dysfunction in mice with chronic heart failure through the regulation of gut microbiota. Our investigation provides initial insights into the role of AQP1 in modulating the intestinal microbiota in a murine model of heart failure. However, the precise mechanisms underlying this association require further exploration and detailed analysis.