Abdominal massage alleviates IBS-D by modulating the gut microbiota and suppressing the LPS/TLR4/NF-κB/MLCK pathway.

Authors

Huanan Li, Xiaoyu Wang, Lianjun Yin, Yusheng Li, Shun Fan, Haining Zhang, Wei Zhang, Haining Ou, Jingui Wang

Published in

Frontiers in microbiology. Volume 17. Pages 1730607. Epub Jun 26, 2026.

Abstract

Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder with complex and incompletely understood pathophysiology. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of abdominal massage on diarrhea-predominant IBS-D using a rat model.
IBS-D was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats through a combination of maternal separation and chronic stress. The experimental interventions consisted of abdominal massage and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) using donor microbiota obtained from IBS-D + abdominal massage rats. Assessments included fecal moisture content (FMC), Bristol stool scores, visceral hypersensitivity, intestinal motility, open field test, gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), inflammatory markers (LPS, TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway), and intestinal barrier integrity (TEM, tight junction proteins, FITC-dextran permeability).
Abdominal massage significantly improved diarrheal symptoms, visceral hypersensitivity, gastrointestinal motility, and anxiety-like behaviors in IBS-D rats. It restored gut microbiota diversity, reduced SCFA levels, and suppressed the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway, leading to decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines and LPS levels. FMT replicated these effects, suggesting the role of gut microbiota modulation. Moreover, abdominal massage also ameliorated barrier dysfunction in IBS-D rats by restoring ultrastructure, modulating MLCK and junctional proteins, and reducing macromolecular permeability.
Abdominal massage alleviates IBS-D symptoms by modulating gut microbiota, inhibiting the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB/MLCK signaling pathway, reducing inflammation, and restoring intestinal barrier function. These findings support its potential as a non-invasive therapeutic strategy for IBS-D.

PMID:
42434548
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.