Search

Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a rare chronic cholestatic liver disease, is characterized by intrahepatic or extrahepatic strictures accompanied by biliary fibrosis. So far, there are no effective therapies to slow down the progression of this disease. Farnesoid X receptors (FXRs) are ligand-activated transcription factors involved in the control of bile acid (BA) synthesis and enterohepatic circulation. Therefore, targeting FXRs holds promise as a potential approach for treating PSC. Pediococcus pentosaceus Li05 is a probiotic that was isolated from healthy volunteers and has previously been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect in DSS-induced colitis. In this study, we established a 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-Dihydrocollidine (DDC)-induced cholestasis mouse model and investigated the effects of Pediococcus pentosaceus Li05 on PSC. Our findings revealed that administration of Li05 significantly attenuated liver damage, hepatic inflammation, and fibrosis, as well as bile duct hyperplasia. Li05 activated the hepatic FXR-SHP and ileal FXR-FGF15 signaling pathways to decrease the expression of Cyp7a1. In addition, the Li05-modulated gut microbiota structure especially improved the abundance of 7α-dehydroxylation bacteria like Eubacterium . The intervention of Li05 also improved the intestinal barrier and reduced bacterial endotoxin translocation. Based on these findings, Li05 shows promise for future application as a therapeutic strategy for cholestasis.

Next-generation probiotics (NGPs) are currently being investigated as therapeutic agents that impact the gut microbiota and disease development. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) shows an excellent therapeutic effect on diabetes, but has an extremely short half-life in vivo . Here, we constructed a novel and diabetes-specific NGP, the genetically engineered strain Lactobacillus plantarum ( L. plantarum )-pMG36e-GLP-1, and evaluated its ameliorative effect on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in artificially induced mice and transgenic mice. In vitro , L. plantarum -pMG36e-GLP-1 showed good genetic stability and probiotic characteristics. In the high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin (HFD/STZ)-induced T2DM mice, L. plantarum -pMG36e-GLP-1 relieved the diabetic symptoms, regulated the intestinal microbiota, and reduced the inflammatory reaction in the pancreatic tissue. Meanwhile, the apoptosis of pancreatic islet cells was inhibited, while islet tissue morphology repairs, islet β-cell proliferation, and insulin secretion were all promoted by L. plantarum -pMG36e-GLP-1. Furthermore, a similar effect of the engineered strain on diabetic symptoms and the pancreas was observed in db / db mice, and the metabolism of lipids in the liver was regulated. Together, the findings of this study confirmed the anti-hyperglycemic effect of the engineered strain L. plantarum -pMG36e-GLP-1, providing a promising approach for T2DM treatment.

Introduction: Test anxiety is a common issue among college students, which can affect their physical and psychological health. However, effective interventions or therapeutic strategies are still lacking. This study aims to evaluate the potential effects of Lactobacillus plantarum JYLP-326 on test anxious college students., Methods: Sixty anxious students were enrolled and randomly allocated to the placebo group and the probiotic group. Both groups were instructed to take placebo and JYLP-326 products twice per day for three weeks, respectively. Thirty unanxious students with no treatments were assigned to a regular control group. The anxiety, depression, and insomnia questionnaires were used to measure students' mental states at the baseline and the end of this study. 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were performed to analyze the changes in the gut microbiota and fecal metabolism., Results: The questionnaire results suggested that JYLP-326 administration could relieve the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia in test anxious students. The gut microbiomes of the placebo group showed a significantly greater diversity index than the control group (p < 0.05). An increased abundance of Bacteroides and Roseburia at the genus level was observed in the placebo group, and the relative abundance of Prevotella and Bifidobacterium decreased. Whereas, JYLP-326 administration could partly restore the disturbed gut microbiota. Additionally, test anxiety was correlated with disordered fecal metabolomics such as a higher Ethyl sulfate and a lower Cyclohexylamine, which could be reversed after taking JYLP-326. Furthermore, the changed microbiota and fecal metabolites were significantly associated with anxiety-related symptoms., Conclusion: The results indicate that the intervention of L. plantarum JYLP-326 could be an effective strategy to alleviate anxiety, depression, and insomnia in test anxious college students. The potential mechanism underlying this effect could be related to the regulation of gut microbiota and fecal metabolites., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Zhu, Fang, Li, Liu, Wei, Zhang, Wang, Fan, Wang, Li and Chen.)

The current study aims to evaluate the potential roles of taking probiotics postoperatively in attenuating the gastrointestinal complications and disturbed gut microbiota in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients undergoing chemotherapy. One hundred eligible CRC patients who were treated with radical surgery and needed to receive chemotherapy were recruited. Half of them were randomly assigned to the Probio group to take a probiotic combination from post-operation to the end of the first chemotherapeutic course. The other half of patients taking placebo instead were classified as the Placebo group. Gastrointestinal complications such as nausea, acid reflux, abdominal pain, abdominal distention, constipation, and diarrhea were recorded during chemotherapy. Fecal samples were collected preoperatively and after the first cycle of postoperative chemotherapy for 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) analysis. Results showed that probiotics administration could effectively reduce chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal complications, particularly in diarrhea (p < 0.01). Additionally, chemotherapy also reduced the bacterial diversity indexes of the gut microbiota in CRC patients, which could be significantly increased by taking probiotics. Moreover, this chemotherapy caused significant changes in the composition of the gut microbiota, as indicated by decreased phylum levels of Firmicutes and increased Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. In particular, several bacterial genera such as Akkermansia and Clostridium were significantly increased, while Prevotella, Lactobacillus, and Roseburia were decreased (p < 0.05). However, probiotic administration could effectively restore these taxa changes both at the phylum and genus levels, and mildly increase the genus levels of Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, and Blautia. Furthermore, probiotics could also promote the production of SCFAs, particularly increasing acetate, butyrate, and propionate (p < 0.0001). These results support the beneficial effects of the probiotic interventions as novel alternative or complementary strategies in chemoprevention.

The gut microbiota drives individual sensitivity to excess acetaminophen (APAP)-mediated hepatotoxicity. It has been reported that the bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila protects hosts against liver disease via the liver-gut axis, but its therapeutic potential for drug-induced liver injury remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of A. muciniphila on APAP-induced liver injury and the underlying mechanism. Administration of A. muciniphila efficiently alleviated APAP-induced hepatotoxicity and reduced the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST). A. muciniphila significantly attenuated APAP-induced oxidative stress and the inflammatory response, as evidenced by restoration of the reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) balance, enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, reduced proinflammatory cytokine production, and alleviation of macrophage and neutrophil infiltration. Moreover, A. muciniphila maintained gut barrier function, reshaped the perturbed microbial community and promoted short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) secretion. The beneficial effects of A. muciniphila were accompanied by alterations in hepatic gene expression at the transcriptional level and activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. Our results suggested that A. muciniphila could be a potential pretreatment for APAP-induced liver injury. IMPORTANCE Our work revealed that A. muciniphila attenuated APAP-induced liver injury by alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation in the liver, and its hepatoprotective effect was accompanied by activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway and mediated by regulation of the composition and metabolic function of the intestinal microbiota. This finding suggested that the microbial community is a non-negligible impact on drug metabolism and probiotic administration could be a potential therapy for drug-induced liver injury.

Lactobacillus salivarius ( L. salivarius ) has been widely used in dietary supplements and clinical treatments. Previous studies demonstrated the protective effect of L. salivarius LI01 on liver injury induced by D-galactosamine (D-GaIN) in rats. Accumulating evidence indicates that Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are highly coordinated; so in this study, we focus on the synergistic effect of L. salivarius LI01 and B. longum TC01 on the alleviation of liver injury caused by D-GaIN in rats and aim to find out the underlying interaction between the two strains. We observed reduced hepatic damage in the D-GaIN-treated rats with probiotic pre-administration, characterized by lower levels of AST and ALT ( p < 0.05) and decreased HAI (Histological Activity Index) scores. Moreover, cotreatment with LI01 and TC01 more effectively decreases proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, MCP-1 and M-CSF ( p < 0.05) so as to inhibit systemic inflammation. Gut barrier dysfunction was ameliorated with compound probiotic pretreatment, as evidenced by the ultrastructure integrity, decreased histological score and elevated TJP-1 expression. What's more, supplementation with LI01 and TC01 markedly alleviates gut dysbiosis in the G-DaIN-treated rats, with enrichment of short chain fatty acid (SCFA) producers Faecalibaculum and Eubacterium&#95;xylanophilum&#95; group, a decreased Firmicutes / Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio and depletion of proinflammatory microbes, such as Peptococcaeae and Ruminococcaceae&#95;UCG-005 . This study highlights the synergistic effect of dietary supplements LI01 and TC01 on the protection against liver failure, which is probably via altering gut microbiota.

Test anxiety creates barriers to learning and performance, which further affects students' social, behavioural, and emotional development. Currently, the medication to treat test anxiety has not been reported yet. Here, we enrolled 120 students to evaluate the effect of probiotic supplement preparation (PSP) on test anxiety from the aspect of the intestinal microbiota. We found that the intake of PSP alleviated the symptoms of depression and anxiety in students with test anxiety by evaluating their mental state using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Scale. High-throughput sequencing results indicated that the consumption of PSP increased the abundance of Streptococcus and Akkermansia that was lowered by the anxiety state in the intestinal microbiota of students. Meanwhile, taking PSP reduced the level of intestinal pathogens of Fusobacterium and Clostridium as well. In conclusion, our work shows that PSP can reduce test anxiety and restore the disturbed microbiota to the standard level in Chinese college students, rendering the use of PSP a promising strategy for test anxiety., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article., (Copyright © 2021 Qi Qin et al.)

HIFs (Hypoxia inducible factors) are the main regulators of the expression change of oxygen-dependent genes, in addition, they also play important roles in immune regulation. HIFs participate in infectious diseases and inflammatory responses, providing us a new therapeutic target for the treatment of diseases. In this study, 16 HIFs were identified in common carp genome database. Comparative genomics analysis showed large expansion of HIF gene family and approved the four round whole genome duplication (WGD) event in common carp. To further understand the function of HIFs, the domain architectures were predicted. All HIF proteins had the conserved HLH-PAS domain, which were essential for them to form dimer and bind to the downstream targets. The differences in domain of HIFα and HIFβ might result in their different functions. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all HIFs were divided into two subfamilies and the HIFs in common carp were clustered with their teleost counterparts indicating they are highly conservative during evolution. In addition, the tissue distribution was examined by RT-PCR showed that most of HIF genes had a wide range of tissue distribution but exhibited tissue-specific expression patterns. The expression divergences were observed between the copy genes, for example, HIF1A-1, HIF2A-1, ARNT-2 had wide tissue distribution while their copies had limited tissue distribution, proving the function divergence of copies post the WGD event. In order to find an effective activation of HIFs and apply to treatment of aquatic diseases, we investigate the dietary supplementation effects of different strains of Lactococcus lactis on the expression of HIFα subfamily members in kidney of common carp infected with A. hydrophila. In addition, all of the HIF genes have a high expression in the early stages of infection, and decreased in the treatment time point of 48 h in common carp. This phenomenon confirms that as a switch, the main function of HIFs is to regulate the production of immune response factors in early infection. So activation of the switch may be an effective method for infectious disease treatment. As expected, the treatment groups improved the expression of HIFs compared with the control group, and the effects of the three strains are different. The strain1 of L. lactis had a stronger induction on HIF genes than strain2 and strain3, and it might be applied as a potential activation of HIF genes for disease treatment. So, adding befitting L. lactis maybe a well method to activate the HIF genes to protect them from mycobacterial infection., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lactobacillus plantarum ZDY 2013, a novel strain isolated from Chinese traditional fermented acid beans, was systematically evaluated for its survival capacity under stress conditions (pH, bile salt, simulated gastrointestinal tract, and antibiotics), production of exopolysaccharide and antagonism against 8 pathogens. Its effect on mice gut microbiota was also investigated by quantitative PCR and PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The results showed that ZDY 2013 can grow at pH 3.5 and survive at pH 2.0 for 6 h and at 0.45% bile salt for 3 h. The exopolysaccharide yield was up to 204±7.68 mg/L. The survival rate of ZDY 2013 in a simulated gastrointestinal tract was as high as 65.84%. Antagonism test with a supernatant of ZDY 2013 showed maximum halo of 28 mm against Listeria monocytogenes. The inhibition order was as follows: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella sonnei, Enterobacter sakazakii, and Staphylococcus aureus. Lactobacillus plantarum ZDY 2013 was sensitive to some antibiotics (e.g., macrolide, sulfonamides, aminoglycoside, tetracyclines and β-lactams), whereas it was resistant to glycopeptides, quinolones, and cephalosporins antibiotics. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profile demonstrated that ZDY 2013 administration altered the composition of the microbiota at various intestinal loci of the mice. Moreover, the quantitative PCR test showed that the administration of ZDY 2013 enhanced the populations of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in either the colon or cecum, and reduced the potential enteropathogenic bacteria (e.g., Enterococcus, Enterobacterium, and Clostridium perfringens). Lactobacillus plantarum ZDY 2013 exhibited high resistance against low pH, bile salt, and gastrointestinal fluid, and possessed antibacterial and gut microbiota modulation properties with a potential application in the development of dairy food and nutraceuticals., (Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The structure of exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by Bifidobacterium and their beneficial effects on human health have been fully studied, but only a few studies have investigated their influence on microbial diversity in the human/animal intestine., Results: The strain named Bifidobacterium bifidum WBIN03 with high growth rate and exopolysaccharide (EPS) yield was selected to study the effect of its EPS on modifying the intestinal microbiota of mice. The results indicated that EPS significantly increased the growth of lactobacilli and total anaerobic bacteria, and exerted their inhibition effect on the growth of enterobacteria, enterococci and Bacteroides fragilis. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis indicated that the EPS significantly increased the diversity of total bacteria and lactobacilli, but significantly decreased the diversity of enterobacteria. When receiving a low dose of EPS, Bacteroidales sp./Lactobacillus sp. occupied the dominant position, and L. johnsonii, L. animalis and L. reuteri were identified as the dominant strains when receiving a high concentration of EPS., Conclusion: The combination of viable cell count, DGGE and sequencing was used as an effective method to assess the microbial diversity in mouse intestine, and the benefit effect of EPS from B. bifidum WBIN03 on probiotics and antagonistic effect against pathogens would guaranteed the health of their hosts., (© 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Probiotics are widely used in the food industry and medicine fields in China, but few studies have been conducted to evaluate the actual microbial amounts and species in probiotic products, which may conflict with the labels and mislead consumers to choose inappropriate foods or medicines., Results: Twenty commercial dairy products and eight commercial 'healthcare' samples were collected from markets in China and tested using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. The results suggested that the total bacterial counts of most commercial products met the minimum quantitative requirement of the Chinese national standard (6.00 log colony-forming units g(-1) ). However, the bacterial counts of specific species were inconsistent with the labelling. In parallel, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis indicated that some probiotic-containing products were wrongly labelled; no Bifidobacterium species were detected in the products claiming to contain bifidobacteria, and the probiotic characteristics (antimicrobial activity, acid resistance and bile resistance) of some isolates had degraded. Moreover, some contaminating bacteria, e.g. Enterobacter sp., Klebsiella sp. and Serratia sp., were also detected in these products., Conclusion: The combination of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods was proven to quickly and conveniently detect the microbial diversity in probiotic products, and more effort is required to regulate the probiotic market in China., (© 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Multiple probiotics have protective effects against different types of liver injury. Different intestinal microbes could be beneficial to the protective effects of the probiotics on the treated cohorts in different aspects. The current study was designed to determine the intestinal bacterial and fungal microbiome associated with different cytokine profiles in the Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum LI09 and Bifidobacterium catenulatum LI10 pretreated rats with D-galactosamine-induced liver injury. In this study, partition around medoids clustering analysis determined two distinct cytokine profiles (i.e., CP1 and CP2) comprising the same 11 cytokines but with different levels among the LI09, LI10, positive control (PC), and negative control (NC) cohorts. All rats in PC and NC cohorts were determined with CP1 and CP2, respectively, while the rats with CP1 in LI09 and LI10 cohorts had more severe liver injury than those with CP2, suggesting that CP2 represented better immune status and was the "better cytokine profile" in this study. PERMANOVA analyses showed that the compositions of both bacterial and fungal microbiome were different in the LI10 cohorts with different cytokine profiles, while the same compositions were similar between LI09 cohorts with different cytokine profiles. The phylotype abundances of both bacteria and fungi were different in the rats with different cytokine profiles in LI09 or LI10 cohorts according to similarity percentage (SIMPER) analyses results. At the composition level, multiple microbes were associated with different cytokine profiles in LI09 or LI10 cohorts, among which Flavonifractor and Penicillium were the bacterium and fungus most associated with LI09 cohort with CP2, while Parabacteroides and Aspergillus were the bacterium and fungus most associated with LI10 cohort with CP2. These microbes were determined to influence the cytokine profiles of the corresponding cohorts. At the structure level, Corynebacterium and Cephalotrichiella were determined as the two most powerful gatekeepers in the microbiome networks of LI09 cohort CP2, while Pseudoflavonifractor was the most powerful gatekeeper in LI10 cohort with CP2. These identified intestinal microbes were likely to be beneficial to the effect of probiotic Bifidobacterium on the immunity improvement of the treated cohorts, and they could be potential microbial biomarkers assisting with the evaluation of immune status of probiotics-treated cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: gut microbiota; psychiatric disorders; gut-brain axis; stroke; fecal microbiota transplantation; psychobiotics; prebiotics EN gut microbiota psychiatric disorders gut-brain axis stroke fecal microbiota transplantation psychobiotics prebiotics 1 3 3 12/17/21 20211215 NES 211215 Increasingly, it is recognized that symbiotic microorganisms, specifically the microbiota resident in the gut, may influence neurodevelopment and programming of social behaviors among animal species and humanity ([3]). Although several communication pathways contribute to the gut microbiota on brain physiology and behavior, the deep mechanisms by which enteric bacteria communicate with the brain and how the gut microbiota influences the brain causally are still needed to be illustrated. Gut microbiota, psychiatric disorders, gut-brain axis, stroke, fecal microbiota transplantation, prebiotics, psychobiotics. [Extracted from the article]