Probiotic Lactobacillus casei Shirota prevents acute liver injury by reshaping the gut microbiota to alleviate excessive inflammation and metabolic disorders

Abstract

Millions of people die from liver diseases annually, and liver failure is one of the three major outcomes of liver disease. The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in liver diseases. This study aimed to explore the effects of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS), a probiotics used widely around the world, on acute liver injury (ALI), as well as the underlying mechanism. Sprague Dawley rats were intragastrically administered LcS suspensions or placebo once daily for 7 days before induction of ALI by intraperitoneal injection of D-galactosamine (D-GalN). Histopathological examination and assessments of liver biochemical markers, inflammatory cytokines, and the gut microbiota, metabolome and transcriptome were conducted. Our results showed that pretreatment with LcS reduced hepatic and intestinal damage and reduced the elevation of serum gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), total bile acids, IL-5, IL-10, G-CSF and RANTES. The analysis of the gut microbiota, metabolome and transcriptome showed that LcS lowered the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes; reduced the enrichment of metabolites such as chenodeoxycholic acid, deoxycholic acid, lithocholic acid, D-talose and N-acetyl-glucosamine, reduce the depletion of D-glucose and L-methionine; and alleviated the downregulation of retinol metabolism and PPAR signalling and the upregulation of the pyruvate metabolism pathway in the liver. These results indicate the promising prospect of using LcS for the treatment of liver diseases, particularly ALI.

Mechanism of the Immunomodulatory Effect of the Combination of Live Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, and Bacillus on Immunocompromised Rats

“…The 16S rDNA V3-V4 region was amplified by PCR using the primers 338F (5’-ACTCCTACGGGAGGCAGCAG-3’) and 806R (5’-GGACTACHVGGGTWTCTAAT-3’). PCR was performed under the following conditions: start at 95°C for 5 min; 25 cycles at 94°C for 50 s, 46°C for 1 min, and 72°C for 30 s; and a final extension step at 72°C for 5 min ( 14 , 15 ). The libraries were prepared for Illumina sequencing using a NEXTflex rapid DNA-seq kit (Bioo Scientific, Austin, TX, USA) according the manufacturer’s instructions.…”

“…Hepatic injuries were assessed based on the histological activity index (HAI) ( 15 ). Intestinal mucosal injury was graded from 0 to 5 points ( 14 ). Pulmonary histological damage was quantified using the American Thoracic Society 2010 Lung Injury Scoring System ( 19 ).…”

The Salivary Microbiota of Patients With Primary Biliary Cholangitis Is Distinctive and Pathogenic

“…The libraries were sequenced using a 300PE MiSeq sequencing kit with the standard Illumina sequencing primers and the Illumina MiSeq platform (Illumina, CA, USA). Data processing was conducted as described previously ( 3 , 17 , 18 ). Briefly, paired-end reads were merged using FLASH v.1.2.11.…”

Vitamin K in COVID-19—Potential Anti-COVID-19 Properties of Fermented Milk Fortified with Bee Honey as a Natural Source of Vitamin K and Probiotics

“…Both honey and fermented milk are capable of correcting metabolic dysfunctions [33,144]. Reduction of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio by probiotics (such as those found in honey and fermented milk) is associated with improvement in metabolism and reduction in toxic metabolites such as chenodeoxycholic acid, deoxycholic acid, lithocholic acid, d-talose, and N-acetylglucosamine, along with decreased depletion of d-glucose and l-methionine, as well as upregulation of the metabolism of pyruvate, retinol, and PPAR in the liver [145].…”