Faecalibacterium prausnitzii: A Next-Generation Probiotic in Gut Disease Improvement

Abstract

The researchers are paying more attention to the role of gut commensal bacteria in health development beyond the classical pathogens. It has been widely demonstrated that dysbiosis, which means the alternations of the gut microbial structure, is closely associated with development of intestinal chronic inflammation-related diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and even infectious diseases including bacterial and viral infection. Thus, for reshaping ecological balance, a growing body of the literatures have proposed numerous strategies to modulate the structure of the gut microbiota, which provide more revelation for amelioration of these inflammation or infection-related diseases. While the ameliorative effects of traditional probiotics seem negligeable, emerging next generation probiotics (NGPs) start to receive great attention as new preventive and therapeutic tools. Encouragingly, within the last decade, the intestinal symbiotic bacterium Faecalibacterium prausnitzii has emerged as the “sentinel of the gut,” with multifunction of anti-inflammation, gut barrier enhancement, and butyrate production. A lower abundance of F. prausnitzii has been shown in IBD, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), and virus infection such as COVID-19. It is reported that intervention with higher richness of F. prausnitzii through dietary modulation, fecal microbiota transplantation, or culture strategy can protect the mice or the subjects from inflammatory diseases. Therefore, F. prausnitzii may have potential ability to reduce microbial translocation and inflammation, preventing occurrences of gastrointestinal comorbidities especially in COVID-19 patients.

Alterations in gut microbiome composition and function in irritable bowel syndrome and increased probiotic abundance with daily supplementation

“…Consistent with IBS-A, IBS-C, and Crohn’s disease studies, we found lower relative abundances of the anti-inflammatory microbe F. prasunitzii in individuals with IBS than the healthy cohort (29, 32–35). In contrast to previous amplicon-based studies that did not find a reduced abundance of F. prausnitzii in IBS-D (35–37), we detected F. prasunitzii at lower levels in IBS-D. F. prausnitzii enhances gut barrier protection and produces butyrate, a short chain fatty acid essential for gut health (29, 32, 38, 39). Roseburia intestinalis has an anti-inflammatory role in the gut and is reduced in individuals with Crohn’s disease (40, 41).…”

“…These variations in the microbial signature was taken into account for the internal health index score. The scoring system is highly dependent on the microbial abundance levels in the profile and their association with gastrointestinal conditions like IBS (43, 44) and balance of the gut ecosystem, including the presence Faecalibacterium (32–34, 38, 39).…”

Adolescent autism and autoimmune diagnoses linked to infant gut bacteria whose prevalence is associated with at-risk genetics and/or diet

“…Indeed, six of the 10 controls-exclusive ASVs are members of bacterial species have been associated with gut health including Akkermansia muciniphila, 48 Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis, 49 and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii 50 (Supplementary Table 1).…”

The Role of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

“…NOD2 mutations influence the abundance of mucosal-adherent bacteria [21] and the transcription of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 [22]. Many studies found that patients with inflammatory bowel disease have fewer SCFA-producing bacteria in their gut, especially Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, a symbiotic bacterium with well-documented beneficial effects for the host [23,24]. Some patients with inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and pouchitis, experience clinical improvement with prolonged courses of antibiotics [25,26], while probiotics such as Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 have shown promise in the treatment of pouchitis and the maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis [27,28].…”

“…NOD2 mutations influence the abundance of mucosal-adherent bacteria [ 21 ] and the transcription of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 [ 22 ]. Many studies found that patients with inflammatory bowel disease have fewer SCFA-producing bacteria in their gut, especially Faecalibacterium prausnitzii , a symbiotic bacterium with well-documented beneficial effects for the host [ 23 , 24 ].…”