Characterization of the anti-inflammatory Lactobacillus reuteri BM36301 and its probiotic benefits on aged mice

Abstract

BackgroundThe gut microbiota is playing more important roles in host immune regulation than was initially expected. Since many benefits of microbes are highly strain-specific and their mechanistic details remain largely elusive, further identification of new probiotic bacteria with immunoregulatory potentials is of great interest.ResultsWe have screened our collection of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for their efficacy in modulating host immune response. Some LAB are characterized by suppression of TNF-α induction when LAB culture supernatants are added to THP-1 cells, demonstrating the LAB’s anti-inflammatory potential. These suppressive materials were not inactivated by heat or trypsin. On the other hand, treatment of THP-1 directly with live bacterial cells identified a group of pro-inflammatory LAB, which stimulated significant production of TNF-α. Among those, we chose the Lactobacillus reuteri BM36301 as an anti-inflammatory strain and the L. reuteri BM36304 as a pro-inflammatory strain, and further studied their in vivo effects. We supplied C57BL/6 mice with these bacteria in drinking water while feeding them a standard diet for 20 weeks. Interestingly, these L. reuteri strains evoked different consequences depending on the gender of the mice. That is, males treated with anti-inflammatory BM36301 experienced less weight gain and higher testosterone level; females treated with BM36301 maintained lower serum TNF-α as well as healthy skin with active folliculogenesis and hair growth. Furthermore, while males treated with pro-inflammatory BM36304 developed higher serum levels of TNF-α and insulin, in contrast females did not experience such effects from this bacteria strain.ConclusionThe L. reuteri BM36301 was selected as an anti-inflammatory strain in vitro. It helped mice maintain healthy conditions as they aged. These findings propose the L. reuteri BM36301 as a potential probiotic strain to improve various aspects of aging issues.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-016-0686-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Microbial lysate upregulates host oxytocin

“…Aside from its previously described positive contributions in the heath of oral (Iniesta et al, 2012; Martin-Cabezas et al, 2016) and gastrointestinal (GI) tract mucosa (Cruchet et al, 2015; Gao et al, 2015; Liu et al, 2012; Schreiber et al, 2009; Varian et al, 2016a; Walter et al, 2011), the probiotic has systemic effects on the immune and hormonal profile of the host animal (Buffington et al, 2016; Erdman and Poutahidis, 2014; Ibrahim et al, 2014; Lakritz et al, 2014; Lee et al, 2016; Levkovich et al, 2013; Livingston et al, 2010; Poutahidis et al, 2013a,b, 2014, 2015; Simon et al, 2015; Varian et al, 2016a,b, 2014). Mice that consume L. reuteri live longer (Ibrahim et al, 2014; Varian et al, 2016a) and resist obesity (Fak and Backhed, 2012; Poutahidis et al, 2013b; Qiao et al, 2015; Varian et al, 2016b, 2014) and age-associated atrophic changes of skeletal muscle (Varian et al, 2016a), testis (Poutahidis et al, 2014), and thyroid (Varian et al, 2014) and thymus glands (Varian et al, 2016a).…”

Induction of gut Lactobacillus reuteri in normal ICR mice by oral administration of L. plantarum AN1

“…The results of this previous report and the present study suggest that L. reuteri is an indigenous L. plantarum ‐SGB. Various healthy functional effects of L. reuteri have been reported in mice, such as anti‐inflammatory, anti‐allergic, hypocholesterolemic, and hypolipidemic effects (Ahl et al, ; Gao et al, ; Karimi e al., ; Lee et al, ; Taranto, Medici, Perdigon, Ruiz Holgado, & Valdez, ).…”

The Ageing Gut–Brain study: Exploring the role of the gut microbiota in dementia

“…Many probiotic bacteria are lactic acid bacteria, some of which have antioxidant and immune regulatory activities (Lee et al . ). In a mouse model of ageing, oxidative stress (measured by monitoring levels of hepatic antioxidant enzymes in the liver) was reduced, and the microbial composition and activity restored to that of the control group, by adding Lactobacillus helveticus by daily oral gavage for 8 weeks (Li et al .…”