OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related pulmonary infection on endogenous metabolites in large intestinal mucosa in BALB/c mice using metabolomics technology based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

METHODSMice were randomly divided into a control group and a RSV pneumonia model group (n=16 each). The mouse model of RSV pneumonia was established using intranasal RSV infection (100×TCID, 50 μL/mouse, once a day). After 7 days of intranasal RSV infection, the mice were sacrificed and GC-MS was used to identify endogenous metabolites and measure the changes in their relative content in colon tissue. SMCA-P12.0 software was used to perform principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) for endogenous metabolites in colon tissue. The differentially expressed metabolites in colon tissue were imported into the metabolic pathway platform Metaboanalyst to analyze related metabolic pathways.

RESULTSPCA and OPLS-DA showed significant differences between the control and RSV pneumonia model groups. A total of 32 metabolites were identified in the colon tissue of the mice with RSV pneumonia. The RSV pneumonia model group had significant increases in the content of leucine, isoleucine, glycine, alanine, arachidonic acid, and lactic acid, which were related to the valine, leucine, isoleucine, arachidonic acid, and pyruvic acid metabolic pathways.

CONCLUSIONSRSV pneumonia might cause metabolic disorders in the large intestinal tissue in mice.