Search

Background and Aim: The etiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with different factors such as genetic, infectious, immunological, and environmental, including modification of the gut microbiota. IBD's conventional pharmacological therapeutic approaches have become a challenge due to side effects, complications from prolonged use, and higher costs. Kefir fermented milk beverage is a functional food that has demonstrated multiple beneficial effects including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. Alternative therapeutic strategies have been used for IBD as more natural products with low-cost and easy acquisition. The aim of this study is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of kefir fermented milk beverage on sodium dextran sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis in rats., Methods: We used 4 groups to perform this study: baseline control (BC), kefir control (KC), 5% untreated DSS-induced colitis (DSS), and 5% DSS-induced colitis treated with kefir (DSSK). The animals received fermented kefir milk beverage ad libitum for six days and the disease activity index was recorded daily. Colon samples were processed for Transmission Electron Microscopy and histopathological evaluation. We analyzed short fatty chain acids through the fecal sample using gas chromatography., Results: Kefir supplementation was able to reduce the clinical activity index and inflammatory process evidenced by decreased neutrophil accumulation, decreased reticulum edema, and increased autophagosomes. Also, showed a trend to increase the levels of acetate and propionate., Conclusions: Our results suggest that kefir fermented milk beverage may have an anti-inflammatory effect minimizing the intestinal damage of DSS-induced colitis., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: The hyperglycemia leads to increased oxidative stress, causing lipid peroxidation and imbalance in the immune system., Aims: To investigate the effect of Kefir - a probiotic containing different strains - on metabolic parameters, cytokines, nitric oxide (NO) production, phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages and intestinal modulation in diabetes., Methods: Wistar rats received injection of streptozotocin (45 mg/kg, intravenously) and diabetes was defined as glycemia ≥200 mg/dL. The animals were distributed in four groups: control (CTL); control Kefir (CTLK); diabetic (DM); diabetic Kefir (DMK). Kefir was given at 1.8 mL/day by gavage, started on the 5th day of diabetes, during 8 weeks. The animals were allocated in metabolic cages, pre and post treatment with Kefir, for measurement of the metabolic parameters, such as water intake, food intake, diuresis, glycemia, body mass, insulin and lipid profile, these last two were only measured at the end of Kefir protocol. After treatment, the animals were euthanized and the peritoneal cavity was prepared, resident macrophages were collected and cultured for analysis of the phagocytic activity, cytokines (IL-10, TNF-α, IL-17, IL-1β) and NO. The intestinal modulation was performed by the quantification of Peyer's patches (PP) in the small intestine. The data were presented as mean ± SEM, with significance of p < 0.05., Results: DM when compared to CTL showed increase in water intake (133 ± 7 vs. 28 ± 1 mL, p < 0.0001), food intake (40 ± 2 vs. 16 ± 1 g, p < 0.0001), diuresis (102 ± 5 vs. 13 ± 1 mL, p < 0.0001) and glycemia (567 ± 12 vs. 84 ± 3 mg/dL, p < 0.0001), while in DMK group all these metabolic parameters were decreased (96 ± 14; 36 ± 1; 86 ± 7 and 407 ± 19, respectively, p < 0.0001), presenting increase of body mass (42 ± 5 vs. 16 ± 4Δ, p < 0.0001) and insulin levels (0.3 ± 0.8 vs. 0.1 ± 0.04 ng/mL, p < 0.0001) compared to DM. The lipid profile of the diabetic groups showed tendency to increase compared to the respective controls. In relation to function of peritoneal macrophages, DMK group vs. DM showed improvement in phagocytic capacity (70 ± 5 vs. 51 ± 7%, p = 0,0023) and increased concentration of all the cytokines analyzed (pg/mL), as IL-10 (926 ± 69 vs. 556 ± 92, p = 0.0004), TNF-α (178 ± 20 vs. 109 ± 20, p = 0.005), IL-17 (33 ± 1 vs. 9 ± 1, p = 0.0001) and IL-1β (102 ± 14 vs. 70 ± 5, p = 0.0129), after 24 h of LPS stimulation; including NO bioavailability after 24 h (102 ± 9 vs. 66 ± 5 μM/mL, p = 0.0029) or 48 h (143 ± 8 vs. 119 ± 4 μM/mL, p = 0.0102) of LPS stimulation. Moreover, the number of PP in the whole small intestine of DMK group was also increased as compared to DM (22 ± 1 vs. 18 ± 1, p = 0.0292)., Conclusion: These results show that Kefir has a potential to modulate the immune response and activate peritoneal macrophages in diabetic animals, which suggests that it could enhance the immunocompetence of patients affected by diabetes mellitus. The hypoglycemic effect of this probiotic could be used as a tool to control glycemia, reducing or delaying the onset of complications associated with this disease., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed at assessing the effects of Kefir, a probiotic fermented milk, on oxidative stress in diabetic animals. The induction of diabetes was achieved in adult male Wistar rats using streptozotocin (STZ). The animals were distributed into four groups as follows: control (CTL); control Kefir (CTLK); diabetic (DM) and diabetic Kefir (DMK). Starting on the 5th day of diabetes, Kefir was administered by daily gavage at a dose of 1.8 mL/day for 8 weeks. Before and after Kefir treatment, the rats were placed in individual metabolic cages to obtain blood and urine samples to evaluate urea, creatinine, proteinuria, nitric oxide (NO), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and C-reactive protein (CRP). After sacrificing the animals, the renal cortex was removed for histology, oxidative stress and NOS evaluation. When compared to CTL rats, DM rats showed increased levels of glycemia, plasmatic urea, proteinuria, renal NO, superoxide anion, TBARS, and plasmatic CRP; also demonstrated a reduction in urinary urea, creatinine, and NO. However, DMK rats showed a significant improvement in most of these parameters. Despite the lack of differences observed in the expression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) was significantly lower in the DMK group when compared to DM rats, as assessed by Western blot analysis. Moreover, the DMK group presented a significant reduction of glycogen accumulation within the renal tubules when compared to the DM group. These results indicate that Kefir treatment may contribute to better control of glycemia and oxidative stress, which is associated with the amelioration of renal function, suggesting its use as a non-pharmacological adjuvant to delay the progression of diabetic complications., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The treatment for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is complex; full effectiveness is rarely achieved and it has many adverse effects. In developing countries, increased resistance to antibiotics and its cost make eradication more difficult. Probiotics can reduce adverse effects and improve the infection treatment efficacy.If the first-line therapy fails a second-line treatment using tetracycline, furazolidone and proton-pump inhibitors has been effective and low cost in Brazil; however it implies in a lot of adverse effects. The aim of this study was to minimize the adverse effects and increase the eradication rate applying the association of a probiotic compound to second-line therapy regimen., Methods: Patients with peptic ulcer or functional dyspepsia infected by H. pylori were randomized to treatment with the furazolidone, tetracycline and lansoprazole regimen, twice a day for 7 days. In a double-blind study, patients received placebo or a probiotic compound (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Streptococcus faecium) in capsules, twice a day for 30 days. A symptom questionnaire was administered in day zero, after completion of antibiotic therapy, after the probiotic use and eight weeks after the end of the treatment. Upper digestive endoscopy, histological assessment, rapid urease test and breath test were performed before and eight weeks after eradication treatment., Results: One hundred and seven patients were enrolled: 21 men with active probiotic and 19 with placebo plus 34 women with active probiotic and 33 with placebo comprising a total of 55 patients with active probiotic and 52 with placebo. Fifty-one patients had peptic ulcer and 56 were diagnosed as functional dyspepsia. The per-protocol eradication rate with active probiotic was 89.8% and with placebo, 85.1% (p=0.49); per intention to treat, 81.8% and 79.6%, respectively (p=0.53). The rate of adverse effects at 7 days with the active probiotic was 59.3% and 71.2% with placebo (p=0.20). At 30 days, it was 44.9% and 60.4%, respectively (p=0.08)., Conclusions: The use of this probiotic compound compared to placebo in the proposed regimen in Brazilian patients with peptic ulcer or functional dyspepsia showed no significant difference in efficacy or adverse effects., Trial Registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN04714018.

Development of dairy organic probiotic fermented products is of great interest as they associate ecological practices and benefits of probiotic bacteria. As organic management practices of cow milk production allow modification of the fatty acid composition of milk (as compared to conventional milk), we studied the influence of the type of milk on some characteristics of fermented milks, such as acidification kinetics, bacterial counts and fatty acid content. Conventional and organic probiotic fermented milks were produced using Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis HN019 in co-culture with Streptococcus thermophilus TA040 and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus LB340. The use of organic milk led to a higher acidification rate and cultivability of Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Fatty acids profile of organic fermented milks showed higher amounts of trans-octadecenoic acid (C18:1, 1.6 times) and polyunsaturated fatty acids, including cis-9 trans-11, C18:2 conjugated linoleic (CLA-1.4 times), and α-linolenic acids (ALA-1.6 times), as compared to conventional fermented milks. These higher levels were the result of both initial percentage in the milk and increase during acidification, with no further modification during storage. Finally, use of bifidobacteria slightly increased CLA relative content in the conventional fermented milks, after 7 days of storage at 4°C, whereas no difference was seen in organic fermented milks., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The mechanisms that govern giant cell (GC) formation in inflammatory, neoplastic and physiologic conditions are far from being understood. Here, we demonstrate that B-1 cells are essential for foreign-body GC formation in the mouse. GCs were analysed on the surface of glass cover slips implanted into the subcutaneous tissue of the animals. It was demonstrated that GCs are almost absent on cover slips implanted into the subcutaneous tissue of BALB/c or CBA/N X-linked immunodeficient mice. As these animals do not have B-1 cells in the peritoneal cavity, they were reconstituted with B-1 cells obtained from cultures of adherent mouse peritoneal cells. Results showed that in B-1-reconstituted animals, the number of GCs on the implant surface surpassed the values obtained with preparations from wild animals. In animals selectively irradiated (pleural and peritoneal cavities) to deplete these cavities of B-1 cells, GCs were also not formed. Enriched suspensions of B-1 cells grown in culture were labelled with [(3)H]-tymidine and injected into the peritoneal cavity of naive mice before implantation of glass cover slips. After 4 days, about 17% of mononuclear cells had their nuclei labelled, and almost 70% of GCs had one or more of their nuclei labelled when analysed by histoautoradiographic technique. A few GCs expressed an immunoglobulin M when analysed by immunostaining and confocal microscopy. Overall, these data demonstrate that B-1 cells are pivotal in the mechanisms of foreign-body GC formation in the mouse.

At least three B cell subsets, B-1a, B-1b and B-2, or conventional B cells are present in the mouse periphery. Here we demonstrate that B-1 cells spontaneously proliferate in stationary cultures of normal adherent mouse peritoneal cells. B-1 cells were characterized by morphology, immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. IgM was detected in the supernatants of these cultures. We demonstrated that the major cell population analyzed expresses the B-1b phenotype. When these cells were transferred to a new culture, a large proportion of them adhere to the plastic surface, and spread as bipolar cells endowed with the capacity to phagocytose via Fc and mannose receptors. Flow cytometry analysis of these adherent cells demonstrated that the great majority of them share both B-220 and Mac-1 antigens. Nevertheless, 45% of them were exclusively Mac-1(+). Finally, when they were labeled in vitro with [(3)H]thymidine and transferred to the peritoneal cavity of naive mice, they migrate to a non-specific inflammatory focus induced by a foreign-body implant. These data demonstrate that B-1 cells, mainly B-1b cells, not only proliferate and differentiate into a mononuclear phagocyte in vitro, but also that they exit the peritoneal cavity and migrate to a non-specific inflammatory milieu.