November 16, "Nature" online published a report that high salt intake will change the intestinal flora of mice. The above findings highlight the potential of gut microbiomes as potential therapeutic targets for salt-resistant diseases, given the growing acceptance of gut flora in the disease.

         High salt intake, which is linked to modern lifestyles, may lead to hypertension and cardiovascular disease. TH17 cells may also be linked to hypertension by inducing autoimmunity by proinflammatory TH17 cells.

        To determine the effect of high salt intake on gut flora, Dominik Müller and colleagues at the Max Breck Molecular Institute in Berlin, Germany, analyzed fecal samples from mice fed normal-salt and salt-fed diets. As a result, it was found that on the 14th day, there was a significant reduction in various microorganisms in mice fed high salt diet. Later, they used 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing and computational methods to identify the most important reduced flora and found that one Lactobacillus murinus was most associated with high-salt foods.

        Further studies showed that injection of Lactobacillus murinus into mice decreased TH17 cells and prevented salt-induced exacerbation of actively-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (encephalitis mouse model) and salt-sensitive hypertension. Another small pilot study in healthy humans found that increasing salt intake reduced the survival of a wide range of Lactobacilli bacteria with an increase in TH17 cells and an increase in blood pressure, consistent with the above findings. However, further research is needed in humans.