Along with respiratory tract disease per se, viral respiratory infections can also cause extrapulmonary complications with a potentially critical impact on health. In the present study, we used an experimental model of influenza A virus (IAV) infection to investigate the nature and outcome of the associated gut disorders. In IAV-infected mice, the signs of intestinal injury and inflammation, altered gene expression, and compromised intestinal barrier functions peaked on day 7 postinfection. As a likely result of bacterial component translocation, gene expression of inflammatory markers was upregulated in the liver. These changes occurred concomitantly with an alteration of the composition of the gut microbiota and with a decreased production of the fermentative, gut microbiota-derived products short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Gut inflammation and barrier dysfunction during influenza were not attributed to reduced food consumption, which caused in part gut dysbiosis. Treatment of IAV-infected mice with SCFAs was associated with an enhancement of intestinal barrier properties, as assessed by a reduction in the translocation of dextran and a decrease in inflammatory gene expression in the liver. Lastly, SCFA supplementation during influenza tended to reduce the translocation of the enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and to enhance the survival of doubly infected animals. Collectively, influenza virus infection can remotely impair the gut's barrier properties and trigger secondary enteric infections. The latter phenomenon can be partially countered by SCFA supplementation.
Keywords: bacterial translocation; enteric infection; gut microbial dysbiosis; influenza; short-chain fatty acids.