Probiotic Cocktail Alleviates Intestinal Inflammation Through Improving Gut Microbiota and Metabolites in Colitis Mice.

The modulation of the gut microbiome has been widely suggested as a promising therapeutic strategy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Here, we established a novel probiotic cocktail to investigate its therapeutic role in acute colitis mice. During dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, the mice were treated with the probiotic cocktail, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from a healthy mice donor, or 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), respectively. The inflammatory responses were assessed by symptoms, serum inflammatory factors, and histological scoring. The intestinal barrier function was assessed by detecting tight junction proteins. Gut microbiota and its metabolites were further identified using 16S rDNA sequencing and a liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). Compared with FMT and 5-ASA treatment, the probiotic cocktail performed better in alleviating symptoms of colitis and decreasing disease activity score and mucosal inflammation. The probiotic cocktail also significantly decreased serum IL-17 level and increased JAM-1 expression in colon. The gut microbiota analysis confirmed that the beneficial effects of the probiotic cocktail were attributed to increasing anti-inflammatory bacteria Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium, and Blautia, while decreasing pro-inflammatory bacteria Parasutterella. The targeted metabolome analysis further indicated a rise in the production of Bifidobacterium-related short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as propanoic acid and isobutyric acid after probiotics treatment. Taken together, the probiotic cocktail effectively alleviated intestinal inflammation through improving gut microbiota and metabolites in colitis mice, suggesting its great potential to be a novel therapeutic approach for IBD patients.

Zhu Y ，Xu Y ，Wang X ，Rao L ，Yan X ，Gao R ，Shen T ，Zhou Y ，Kong C ，Zhou L ... -  《Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology》

The Anti-Inflammatory Effect of a Probiotic Cocktail in Human Feces Induced-Mouse Model.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract due to altered interaction between the immune system and the gut microbiota. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of a probiotic cocktail in modulating immune dysregulation induced in mice. Mice were divided into 5 groups (n = 5/group), and inflammation was induced in two separate groups by fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from the stool of human with IBD and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). In the other two groups, the cocktail of Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. (108CFU/kg/day) was administered daily for a total of 28days in addition to inducing inflammation. A group as a contcxsrol group received only water and food. The alteration of the selected genera of gut microbiota and the expression of some genes involved in the regulation of the inflammatory response were studied in the probiotic-treated and untreated groups by quantitative real-time PCR. The selected genera of gut microbiota of the FMT and DSS groups showed similar patterns on day 28 after each treatment. In the probiotic-treated groups, the population of the selected genera of gut microbiota normalized and the abundance of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria increased compared to the DSS and FMT groups. The expression of genes related to immune response and tight junctions was positively affected by the probiotic. Changes in the gut microbiota could influence the inflammatory status in the gut, and probiotics as a preventive or complementary treatment could improve the well-being of patients with inflammatory bowel disease symptoms.

Salimi A ，Sepehr A ，Hejazifar N ，Talebi M ，Rohani M ，Pourshafie MR ... -  《-》

Spinal anesthesia alleviates dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis by modulating the gut microbiota.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease with recurrent intestinal inflammation. Although the exact etiology of IBD remains unknown, the accepted hypothesis of the pathogenesis to date is that abnormal immune responses to the gut microbiota are caused by environmental factors. The role of the gut microbiota, particularly the bidirectional interaction between the brain and gut microbiota, has gradually attracted more attention. To investigate the potential effect of spinal anesthesia on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis mice and to detect whether alterations in the gut microbiota would be crucial for IBD. A DSS-induced colitis mice model was established. Spinal anesthesia was administered on colitis mice in combination with the methods of cohousing and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to explore the role of spinal anesthesia in IBD and identify the potential mechanisms involved. We demonstrated that spinal anesthesia had protective effects against DSS-induced colitis by alleviating clinical symptoms, including reduced body weight loss, decreased disease activity index score, improved intestinal permeability and colonic morphology, decreased inflammatory response, and enhanced intestinal barrier functions. Moreover, spinal anesthesia significantly increased the abundance of Bacteroidetes, which was suppressed in the gut microbiota of colitis mice. Interestingly, cohousing with spinal anesthetic mice and FMT from spinal anesthetic mice can also alleviate DSS-induced colitis by upregulating the abundance of Bacteroidetes. We further showed that spinal anesthesia can reduce the increase in noradrenaline levels induced by DSS, which might affect the gut microbiota. These data suggest that microbiota dysbiosis may contribute to IBD and provide evidence supporting the protective effects of spinal anesthesia on IBD by modulating the gut microbiota, which highlights a novel approach for the treatment of IBD.

Hong Y ，Zhao J ，Chen YR ，Huang ZH ，Hou LD ，Shen B ，Xin Y ... -  《-》

Pediococcus pentosaceus CECT 8330 protects DSS-induced colitis and regulates the intestinal microbiota and immune responses in mice.

Compelling evidences demonstrated that gut microbiota dysbiosis plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Therapies for targeting the microbiota may provide alternative options for the treatment of IBD, such as probiotics. Here, we aimed to investigate the protective effect of a probiotic strain, Pediococcus pentosaceus (P. pentosaceus) CECT 8330, on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. C57BL/6 mice were administered phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or P. pentosaceus CECT 8330 (5 × 108 CFU/day) once daily by gavage for 5 days prior to or 2 days after colitis induction by DSS. Weight, fecal conditions, colon length and histopathological changes were examined. ELISA and flow cytometry were applied to determine the cytokines and regulatory T cells (Treg) ratio. Western blot was used to examine the tight junction proteins (TJP) in colonic tissues. Fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) levels and microbiota composition were analyzed by targeted metabolomics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, respectively. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Cluster of orthologous groups of proteins (COG) pathway analysis were used to predict the microbial functional profiles. P. pentosaceus CECT 8330 treatment protected DSS-induced colitis in mice as evidenced by reducing the weight loss, disease activity index (DAI) score, histological damage, and colon length shortening. P. pentosaceus CECT 8330 decreased the serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6), and increased level of IL-10 in DSS treated mice. P. pentosaceus CECT 8330 upregulated the expression of ZO-1, Occludin and the ratio of Treg cells in colon tissue. P. pentosaceus CECT 8330 increased the fecal SCFAs level and relative abundances of several protective bacteria genera, including norank_f_Muribaculaceae, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Dubosiella. Furthermore, the increased abundances of bacteria genera were positively correlated with IL-10 and SCFAs levels, and negatively associated with IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, respectively. The KEGG and COG pathway analysis revealed that P. pentosaceus CECT 8330 could partially recover the metabolic pathways altered by DSS. P. pentosaceus CECT 8330 administration protects the DSS-induced colitis and modulates the gut microbial composition and function, immunological profiles, and the gut barrier function. Therefore, P. pentosaceus CECT 8330 may serve as a promising probiotic to ameliorate intestinal inflammation.

Dong F ，Xiao F ，Li X ，Li Y ，Wang X ，Yu G ，Zhang T ，Wang Y ... -  《Journal of Translational Medicine》

Novel Gut Microbiota Patterns Involved in the Attenuation of Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Mouse Colitis Mediated by Glycerol Monolaurate via Inducing Anti-inflammatory Responses.

Mo Q ，Liu T ，Fu A ，Ruan S ，Zhong H ，Tang J ，Zhao M ，Li Y ，Zhu S ，Cai H ，Feng F ... -  《mBio》