Feeding Time Altered Intestinal Microbiota and SCFA Potentially Induce Diurnal Oscillations of Ovarian IL-17 and Influence Follicular Development in Puberty Growing Rabbits

This study investigated the crucial role of feeding time regulated rhythms of gut microbes and metabolites in pubertal follicular development in rabbits. Results demonstrated that night-restricted feeding (NRF) accelerated puberty onset, increased antral follicle, and enhanced granulosa cell proliferation while reducing apoptosis.

Further ovarian transcriptome analysis revealed that feeding time regulated the IL-17 signaling pathway, with IL-17 protein exhibiting a diurnal oscillation of low during the day and high at night in the NRF group. The rhythmic IL-17 that mimics NRF stimulated the proliferation of granulosa cells and upregulated the expression of clock genes (BMAL1, CLOCK) and proliferation-related genes (WEE1) in vitro. Similar diurnal IL-17 fluctuations low during the day and high at night were observed in the colon of NRF group, along with increased concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (acetate, propionate, and butyrate acid) and higher abundance of associated microorganisms (Akkermansia and NK4A214_group) in the cecum.