Maternal consumption of fructo-oligosaccharide diminishes the severity of skin inflammation in offspring of NC/Nga mice

Abstract

Strategies to manipulate the gut microbiota in infancy have been considered to prevent the development of allergic diseases later in life. We aimed to elucidate the effects of maternal dietary supplementation with a prebiotic oligosaccharide on gut microbiota and spontaneously developing atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in the offspring of NC/Nga mice. Female NC/Nga mice were fed diets either with or without fructooligosaccharide supplementation during pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, offspring were fed the diets supplemented with or without fructo-oligosaccharide for 11 weeks in an air-uncontrolled conventional room. Changes in gut microbiota were assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of the PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene. Skin lesions were evaluated by a clinical score and scratching behaviour. Serum antibody levels were measured by ELISA, and expression levels of cytokines and chemokines in lesional tissue were evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR. Maternal supplementation with fructo-oligosaccharide modulated the gut microbiota in sucklings. Although maternal supplementation with fructo-oligosaccharide suppressed the increase in clinical skin severity score and scratching behaviour in offspring, dietary fructooligosaccharide after weaning was less effective. The diminution of skin lesions was accompanied by lower serum concentrations of total IgG1 and lower expression levels of TNF-a in the lesional tissue. These data suggest that maternal consumption of fructo-oligosaccharide diminishes the severity of atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in the offspring of NC/Nga mice. Fructo-oligosaccharide: Prebiotics: Atopic dermatitis: Gut microbiota: NC/Nga miceThe gut microbiota play an important role in maintaining host health by preventing the colonisation of pathogens, degrading dietary compounds and maintaining normal mucosal immunity. Particularly, the composition of the gut microbiota early in life profoundly influences later immune responses (1 -4) . Therefore, strategies to manipulate the microbiota in infancy have been considered in preventing the onset of allergic diseases. This idea is supported by epidemiological data demonstrating that differences in the composition of gut microbiota in infancy precede the development of atopic dermatitis (AD) (5 -8) . In addition, clinical trials showed that maternal administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (i.e. probiotics) during pregnancy and lactation was beneficial in preventing the development of AD in at-risk children during the first 4 years of life (9,10) . However, L. rhamnosus GG administration did not benefit adolescents suffering from birch pollen allergy (11) . These findings suggest that the time point for exposure to probiotics is important in preventing the development of allergic diseases.Indigestible oligosaccharides are regarded as prebiotics that affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the intestinal tract, and thus improving host...

2,4-Dinitrofluorobenzene-Induced Contact Hypersensitivity Response in NC/Nga Mice Fed Fructo-Oligosaccharide

“…These data clearly indicate that post-weaning FOS consumption, but not maternal FOS consumption, reduced DNFB-induced CHS in NC/ Nga mice. Thus, the present findings are in contrast to our previous observations that the severity of spontaneously developing AD-like skin lesions in the offspring of NC/Nga mice was reduced by maternal FOS consumption, and to a lesser extent, by post-weaning FOS consumption (14). Although further investigations are needed to solve this discrepancy, it is assumed that maternal FOS consumption and, perhaps modulation of gut microbiota in infancy by maternal FOS consumption, might have different impacts on the development of symptoms in different types of allergic reaction in the offspring.…”

“…2). The results are consistent with our previous studies (13,14,25) and suggest that dietary FOS influenced the composition of gut microbiota. However, both conventional culture analysis and 16S rRNA gene-based analysis showed no detectable levels of bifidobacteria in the gut of NC/Nga mice (data not shown).…”

“…Total RNA was isolated from the ear auricle as previously described ( 14 ). In experiment 2, an equal amount of total RNA isolated from individual mice was pooled in each group, while total RNA samples were analyzed individually in experiment 1.…”

“…In experiment 2, an equal amount of total RNA isolated from individual mice was pooled in each group, while total RNA samples were analyzed individually in experiment 1. After treatment with DNase to remove any genomic DNA, the total RNA samples were subjected to reverse transcription, followed by quantitative RT-PCR as previously described ( 14 ). …”

Administration of Antibiotics during Infancy Promoted the Development of Atopic Dermatitis-Like Skin Lesions in NC/Nga Mice

“…DNA samples were used as a template to amplify the fragments of 16S rDNA with universal primers U968-GC (CGC CCG GGG CGC GCC CCG GGC GGG GCG GGG GCA CGG GGG GAA CGC GAA GAA CCT TAC) and L1401 (CGG TGT GTA CAA GAC CC), 24) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of the amplicon was performed as described previously. 25) Quantity One software (version 4.6.0, Bio-Rad) was used for band identification and normalization of band patterns from the DGGE gels. Subsequently, a dendrogram of the DGGE-band profile was constructed using Pearson's curve-based correlation and the unweighted pair-group method by the arithmetic average (UPGMA) clustering method of the Quantity One program, as previously described.…”