Dietary supplementation with Bifidobacterium lactis NCC2818 from weaning reduces local immunoglobulin production in lymphoid-associated tissues but increases systemic antibodies in healthy neonates

Abstract

Weaning is associated with a major shift in the microbial community of the intestine, and this instability may make it more acquiescent than the adult microbiota to long-term changes. Modulation achieved through dietary interventions may have potentially beneficial effects on the developing immune system, which is driven primarily by the microbiota. The specific aim of the present study was to determine whether immune development could be modified by dietary supplementation with the human probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis NCC2818 in a tractable model of weaning in infants. Piglets were reared by their mothers before being weaned onto a solid diet supplemented with B. lactis NCC2818, while sibling controls did not receive supplementation. Probiotic supplementation resulted in a reduction in IgA (P, 0·0005) and IgM (P, 0·009) production by mucosal tissues but had no effect on IgG production (P. 0·05). Probiotic-supplemented pigs had more mast cells than unsupplemented littermates (P,0·0001), although numbers in both groups were low. In addition, the supplemented piglets made stronger serum IgG responses to fed and injected antigens (P, 0·05). The present findings are consistent with B. lactis NCC2818 reducing intestinal permeability induced by weaning, and suggest that the piglet is a valuable intermediate between rodent models and human infants. The results also strongly suggest that measures of the effect of probiotic supplementation on the immune system need to be interpreted carefully as proxy measures of health benefit. However, they are useful in developing an understanding of the mechanism of action of probiotic strains, an important factor in predicting favourable health outcomes of nutritional intervention.

Sexual Dimorphism in Immune Development and in Response to Nutritional Intervention in Neonatal Piglets

“…In such trials, although gestational age and weight at birth, attendance at pre-school facilities, the presence of siblings and pet ownership are often taken into account during analyses, sex seldom is. However, we have previously shown that diet also influences the response to probiotics (44) and the studies here further demonstrate that some of the impacts of both prebiotic and probiotics on immune development in young piglets were also sex-specific. The combination of environmental, genetic, and phenotypic influences on the response to functional foods may, in part, begin to explain inconsistencies in the outcomes of many reported studies.…”

“…As we have previously reported (44), there was an increase in IgG 1 anti-soya antibody in serum of piglets after weaning at 3 weeks old onto soya-based diets. Statistical analysis using sex, NCC2818 supplementation, litter, and treatment as fixed factors demonstrated that there was no significant effect of ovalbumin injection on the level of anti-soya antibody produced in response to weaning onto soya protein (Figure 8B, p = 0.198): therefore, for display ( Figure 8A), animals in groups A and C (shown in Figure 1) were grouped together as were animals in groups B and D. The level of antibody produced after weaning varied between litters, but was significantly increased by supplementation with NCC2818 (Figure 8, p = 0.0111).…”

“…At sacrifice, 4 cm 2 samples of intestinal mucosa (distal jejunum, caecum tip, and descending colon) and 1 cm 3 of MLN (draining the distal jejunum) were collected and placed in cold sterile medium. Organ fragment culture (OFC) was carried out as previously described (44). Briefly, the sample were vigorously washed three times in Ca 2+…”

A dietary carbohydrase blend improved intestinal barrier function and growth rate in weaned pigs fed higher fiber diets1

“…Lower levels of ileal sIgA were observed in pigs fed diets with EB alone, but not in combination with X, compared to the control. This may be related with the improved gut barrier function in the small intestine, which likely resulted in reduced access of microbiota to ileal lamina propria, and hence reduced stimulation of IgA production ( Lewis et al, 2013 ). In piglets, Xiong et al (2015) reported that supplementing a low dosage of chito-oligosaccharide led to an increase in intestinal mucosal IL-10 and sIgA, suggesting immune activation resulted in modulation of cytokines and antibodies.…”

Non-antibiotic feed additives in diets for pigs: A review

“…This same feeding regimen was maintained through the growing-finishing phase and pig performance and carcass characteristics were not affected by DFM addition ( Apgar et al., 1993 ). More recent studies utilizing lactic-acid producing DFM ( Bifidobacterium lactis NCC2818) supplemented to a weanling pig diet produced an up-regulation of proteins associated with epithelial tight cell junctions and reduced IgA in intestinal mucosal tissues, indicating increased gut barrier function ( Lewis et al., 2013 ). It has also been demonstrated that effects of DFM are most likely diet dependent ( Merrifield et al., 2013 , Bailey, 2016 ).…”