Rectal ozone insufflation modulates gut microbiota: improving lung function in mice with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

JOURNAL/mgres/04.03/01612956-202701000-00010/figure1/v/2026-11-03T121139Z/r/image-tiff

Ozone rectal insufflation possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and is used for the treatment and prevention of diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ozone rectal insufflation on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and explore the potential underlying mechanisms from the perspective of gut microbiology. A mouse chronic obstructive pulmonary disease model was established by intratracheal spraying of lipopolysaccharide and elastase. Mice received ozone rectal insufflation intervention following modeling. We found that ozone rectal insufflation improved pulmonary function, alleviated emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis, and reduced inflammatory cytokine levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mice. Additionally, ozone rectal insufflation modulated the pathogenic-to-beneficial gut bacteria ratio in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mice. The treatment also led to an upregulation of short-chain fatty acids. The fecal microbiota transplantation results further confirmed that the gut microbiota of ozone rectal insufflation-treated mice was sufficient to attenuate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease symptoms. In summary, our findings indicate that ozone rectal insufflation enhances lung function and reduces inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mice by modulating the gut microbiota and its associated metabolites.