Background and Objectives: Microbial communities residing in the gut play a major role in the communication between the gut and the brain through neural, immune, and hormonal routes. Changes in abundance of beneficial intestinal bacteria can affect health of individuals. Conversely, drugs, disease, diet and other factors can alter the gut microbiome. However, there is limited information on the effect of exogenous factors on gut microbiota. In this study, we investigated wheth- er a beneficial bacterium, the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum IS-10506, can stimulate the gut–brain axis using Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: The animals were divided into two groups: one received L. plantarum IS strain 10506 supple- mentation, while the control group received no treatment. Activation of the gut–brain axis was evaluated by immunohisto- chemical analysis of intestinal and brain serotonin (5-HT) and brain neurotrophin (NT), serotonin transporter (5-HTT), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. Results: The results showed that BDNF (p< 0.000), NT (p< 0.000007), and 5-HTT (p< 0.000007) expression was upregu- lated in the brain along with intestinal 5-HT (p< 0.000) level in rats treated with L. plantarum strain IS-10506 relative to the control group. Conclusion: The probiotic L. plantarum IS-10506 stimulates the gut–brain axis and can potentially promote brain develop- ment and function.

Group A rotavirus (RVA) is the most important cause of severe gastroenteritis among children worldwide, and effective RVA vaccines have been introduced in many countries. Here we performed a molecular epidemiological analysis of RVA infection among pediatric patients in East Java, Indonesia, during 2015-2018. A total of 432 stool samples were collected from hospitalized pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis. None of the patients in this cohort had been immunized with an RVA vaccine. The overall prevalence of RVA infection was 31.7% (137/432), and RVA infection was significantly more prevalent in the 6-to 11-month age group than in the other age groups (P < 0.05). Multiplex reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) revealed that the most common G-P combination was equine-like G3P[8] (70.8%), followed by equine-like G3P[6] (12.4%), human G1P[8] (8.8%), G3P[6] (1.5%), and G1P[6] (0.7%). Interestingly, the equine-like strains were exclusively detected until May 2017, but in July 2017 they were completely replaced by a typical human genotype (G1 and G3), suggesting that the dynamic changes in RVA genotypes from equine-like G3 to typical human G1/G3 in Indonesia can occur even in the country with low RVA vaccine coverage rate. The mechanism of the dynamic changes in RVA genotypes needs to be explored. Infants and children with RVA-associated gastroenteritis presented more frequently with some dehydration, vomiting, and watery diarrhea, indicating a greater severity of RVA infection compared to those with non-RVA gastroenteritis. In conclusion, a dynamic change was found

We sought datasets with granular age distributions of rotavirus-positive disease presentations among children <5 years of age, before the introduction of rotavirus vaccines. We identified 117 datasets and fit parametric age distributions to each country dataset and mortality stratum. We calculated the median age and the cumulative proportion of rotavirus gastroenteritis events expected to occur at ages between birth and 5.0 years. The median age of rotavirus-positive hospital admissions was 38 weeks (interquartile range [IQR], 25–58 weeks) in countries with very high child mortality and 65 weeks (IQR, 40–107 weeks) in countries with very low or low child mortality. In countries with very high child mortality, 69% of rotavirus-positive admissions in children <5 years of age were in the first year of life, with 3% by 10 weeks, 8% by 15 weeks, and 27% by 26 weeks. This information is critical for assessing the potential benefits of alternative rotavirus vaccination schedules in different countries and for monitoring program impact.

BackgroundRotavirus infections are a major cause of diarrhea in children in both developed and developing countries. Rotavirus genetics, patient immunity, and environmental factors are thought to be related to the severity of acute diarrhea due to rotavirus in infants and young children. The objective of this study was to provide a correlation between rotavirus genotypes, clinical factors and degree of severity of acute diarrhea in children under 5 years old in Surabaya, Indonesia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in children aged 1–60 months with acute diarrhea hospitalized in Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia from April to December 2013. Rotavirus in stool specimens was identified by ELISA and genotyping (G-type and P-type) using multiplex reverse transcription PCR. Severity was measured using the Ruuska and Vesikari scoring system. The clinical factors were investigated included patient’s age (months), hydration, antibiotic administration, nutritional state, co-bacterial infection and co-viral infection.ResultsA total of 88 children met the criteria; 80.7% were aged 6–24 months, watery diarrhea was the most common type (77.3%) and 73.6% of the subjects were co-infected with bacteria, of which pathogenic Escherichia coli was the most common (42.5%). The predominant VP7 genotyping (G-type) was G2 (31.8%) and that of VP4 genotyping (P-type) was P[4] (31.8%). The predominant rotavirus genotype was G2P[4] (19.3%); G1P[4] and G9P[4] were uncommon with a prevalence of 4.5%. There were significant differences between the common genotype and uncommon genotype with respect to the total severity score of diarrhea (p <0.05). G3, G4 and G9 were significantly correlated with severe diarrhea (p = 0.009) in multivariate analyses and with frequency of diarrhea (>10 times a day) (p = 0.045) in univariate analyses, but there was no significant correlation between P typing and severity of diarrhea. For combination genotyping of G and P, G2P[4] was significantly correlated with severe diarrhea in multivariate analyses (p = 0.029).ConclusionsThere is a correlation between rotavirus genotype and severity of acute diarrhea in children. Genotype G2P[4] has the highest prevalence. G3, G4, G9 and G2P[4] combination genotype were found to be associated with severe diarrhea.

This study investigated the probiotic effect of Lactobacillus plantarum IS-10506 in activating and regenerating leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor (Lgr)5- and B lymphoma Moloney murine leukaemia virus insertion region (Bmi)1-expressing intestinal stem cells in rodents following Escherichia coli serotype 055:B5 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=64) were randomised into control (KN), LPS (KL), probiotic + LPS (KL-Pr), and sequential probiotic + LPS + probiotic (KPR-7L) groups. Microencapsulated L. plantarum IS-10506 (2.86×10 cfu/day) was administered via a gastric tube once daily for up to 7 days, and LPS (250 ng/kg body weight) was administered via a gastric tube on the first day of the experiment to all but the KN group. On day 3, 4, 6, and 7, four rats per group were sacrificed, and Lgr5, Bmi1, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and β-catenin expression in the ileum was assessed by immunohistochemistry. LPS treatment reduced Lgr5 (P≤0.05) and Bmi1 (P=0.000) levels in intestinal epithelial cells, whereas probiotic treatment increased levels of Lgr5 (KPR-7L, P=0.008) and Bmi1 (KL-Pr, P=0.008; and KPR-7L, P=0.000). Lgr5 expression was upregulated in the KL-Pr group on day 3, 4, 6, and 7 (P=0.056). Additionally, ERK levels were elevated in Bmi1- and Lgr5-expressing cells in rats treated with probiotics (KL-Pr and KPR-7L), whereas β-catenin levels were increased in Lgr5-expressing cells from KPR-7L rats and in Bmi1-expressing cells from KL-Pr and KPR-7L rats on day 3 and 4. These results demonstrated that the probiotic L. plantarum IS-10506 activated intestinal stem cells to counter inflammation and might be useful for maintaining intestinal health, especially when used as a prophylactic agent.