Rat Study Links Gut Microbiota to Urticaria Relief

Researchers from Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, and Lunan Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd have published a multi-omics study demonstrating that Jingfang Mixture (JF) alleviates inflammation in a rat model of urticaria-like allergic inflammation. The study, published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, investigates the potential role of the gut-skin axis in this condition. By integrating 16S rRNA gene sequencing, fecal untargeted metabolomics, and skin data-independent acquisition-based quantitative proteomics, the team sought to understand how this traditional Chinese medicine formula acts at the level of microbiota, metabolites, and skin signaling.

The research addresses a gap in understanding the systemic and relapsing nature of urticaria, which cannot be fully explained by cutaneous mast-cell activation alone. The authors hypothesized that the gut contributes to the disease process and that JF might act through a gut-skin route. To test this, they used an ovalbumin and aluminum hydroxide-induced urticaria-like allergic inflammation rat model.

The results indicated that JF suppressed both Th2 and Th17/pro-inflammatory responses in the treated rats. Specifically, the treatment reduced levels of immunoglobulin E, interleukin-4, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin-17.

At the microbial level, JF partially reversed gut dysbiosis by restoring short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria. The abundance of Bacteroidia, Clostridia, Lachnospirales, and Oscillospirales increased, while Proteobacteria and Enterobacterales decreased.

Fecal metabolomics analysis revealed that JF normalized the fecal metabolome. The treatment elevated anti-inflammatory metabolites, including butyrate, indole, indole-3-acetic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid. Conversely, it reduced pro-inflammatory mediators such as arachidonic acid, leukotriene B4, and secondary bile acids.

At the skin level, proteomics data showed that JF activated AMP-activated protein kinase signaling and suppressed aberrant activation of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphoinositide 3-kinase-protein kinase B pathways. Spearman correlation analysis further revealed that short-chain fatty acids and indole derivatives were positively correlated with the abundance of AMPK-pathway-related proteins and negatively correlated with p38 MAPK and PI3K-Akt proteins.

The authors conclude that JF mitigates urticaria-like inflammation likely through the modulation of gut microbiota and the regulation of short-chain fatty acid, bile acid, tryptophan, and lipid metabolism. This multi-omics evidence suggests that JF may act through the gut microbiota-metabolite-skin signaling axis to confer anti-urticarial benefits.

However, the authors note that further causal validation experiments and clinical investigations are warranted.

Subject of Research: Multi-omics analysis of Jingfang Mixture effects on urticaria-like inflammation in rats

Article Title: Multi-omics analysis revealed that Jingfang Mixture alleviates inflammation in an OVA/Al(OH)3-induced urticaria-like rat model by regulating the AMPK/p38 MAPK/PI3K-Akt pathway associated with the gut-skin axis

Article References: Song, X., Liu, X., Yang, L., Yan, G., Sun, H., Sun, Y., Zhang, G., Kong, L., Han, Y., Guan, Y., & Wang, X. (2026). Multi-omics analysis revealed that Jingfang Mixture alleviates inflammation in an OVA/Al(OH)3-induced urticaria-like rat model by regulating the AMPK/p38 MAPK/PI3K-Akt pathway associated with the gut-skin axis. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 16, Article 1973292. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2026.1973292

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2026.1973292

Keywords: Jingfang Mixture, Urticaria, Gut-skin axis, Multi-omics, Rat model, AMPK pathway, Gut microbiota, Metabolomics, Proteomics, Allergic inflammation, analysis, revealed