Probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum strain JDFM216 stimulates the longevity and immune response of Caenorhabditis elegans through a nuclear hormone receptor

Abstract

Here, we examined the functionality of Lactobacillus fermentum strain JDFM216, a newly isolated probiotic bacterium, using a Caenorhabditis elegans model. We determined bacterial colonization in the intestinal tract of C. elegans by plate counting and transmission electron microscopy and examined the survival of C. elegans using a solid killing assay. In addition, we employed DNA microarray analysis, quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction, and immunoblotting assays to explore health-promoting pathways induced by probiotic bacteria in C. elegans. Initially, we found that the probiotic bacterium L. fermentum strain JDFM216 was not harmful to the C. elegans host. Conditioning with JDFM216 led to its colonization in the nematode intestine and enhanced resistance in nematodes exposed to food-borne pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli O157:H7. Interestingly, this probiotic strain significantly prolonged the life span of C. elegans. Whole-transcriptome analysis and transgenic worm assays revealed that the health-promoting effects of JDFM216 were mediated by a nuclear hormone receptor (NHR) family and PMK-1 signaling. Taken together, we described a new C. elegans-based system to screen novel probiotic activity and demonstrated that preconditioning with the probiotic L. fermentum strain JDFM216 may positively stimulate the longevity of the C. elegans host via specific pathway.

Diets affect the age-dependent decline of associative learning inCaenorhabditis elegans

“…Both live E. coli and LAB can colonize in worms (Berg et al, 2016; Chelliah et al, 2018; Park et al, 2018; Portal-Celhay, Bradley, & Blaser, 2012). Live bacteria are necessary for some physiological roles; secreted enterobactin from live E. coli in the gut promotes C. elegans growth (Qi & Han, 2018); live, but not dead, LAB reduced the susceptibility to pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa .…”

“…The PMK-1 pathway is also activated by Lb. acidophilus and Lactobacillus fermentum (Kim & Mylonakis, 2012; Park et al, 2018). Worms fed a lactic acid bacteria, Weissella , show higher expression of daf-16, aak-2 , and jnk-1 , and extend lifespan in these genes-dependent manners (Lee et al, 2015).…”

Curative Treatment of Candidiasis by the Live Biotherapeutic Microorganism Lactobacillus rhamnosus Lcr35® in the Invertebrate Model Caenorhabditis elegans: First Mechanistic Insights

“…We choose C. elegans as a relevant in vivo model for studying the pathogenicity of microorganisms [21,[28][29][30][31] and the antimicrobial properties of lactic acid bacteria [32,33]. Unlike in vitro experiments which demonstrated no significant antifungal effects of the LBM, those performed in vivo showed that Lcr35 ® had interesting curative anti-C. albicans properties in the nematode.…”

Caenorhabditis Elegans and Probiotics Interactions from a Prolongevity Perspective

“…These phenotypes occur rather by triggering the p38 MAPK pathway, which culminates with the nuclear translocation of the transcriptional factor skinhead family member (SKN)-1 [9]. SKN-1, an ortholog of the mammalian Nrf2, induces the expression of target genes involved in oxidative stress resistance and it is responsible for the beneficial effect exerted by several other probiotic microbes [37,62,69].…”