Bifidobacterium breve CCFM1078 Alleviates Collagen-Induced Arthritis in Rats via Modulating the Gut Microbiota and Repairing the Intestinal Barrier Damage

Effect of prebiotic fiber on physical function and gut microbiota in adults, mostly women, with knee osteoarthritis and obesity: a randomized controlled trial

PURPOSE

Obesity is a primary risk factor for knee osteoarthritis (OA). Prebiotics enhance beneficial gut microbes and can reduce body fat and inflammation. Our objective was to examine if a 6-month prebiotic intervention improved physical function in adults with knee osteoarthritis and obesity. We also measured knee pain, body composition, quality of life, gut microbiota, inflammatory markers, and serum metabolomics.

METHODS

Adults (n = 54, mostly women) with co-morbid obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) and unilateral/bilateral knee OA were randomly assigned to prebiotic (oligofructose-enriched inulin; 16 g/day; n = 31) or isocaloric placebo (maltodextrin; n = 21) for 6 months. Performance based-tests, knee pain, quality of life, serum metabolomics and inflammatory markers, and fecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acids were assessed.

RESULTS

Significant between group differences were detected for the change in timed-up-and-go test, 40 m fast paced walk test, and hand grip strength test from baseline that favored prebiotic over placebo. Prebiotic also reduced trunk fat mass (kg) at 6 months and trunk fat (%) at 3 months compared to placebo. There was a trend (p = 0.059) for reduced knee pain at 6 months with prebiotic versus placebo. In gut microbiota analysis, a total of 37 amplicon sequence variants differed between groups. Bifidobacterium abundance was positively correlated with distance walked in the 6-min walk test and hand grip strength. At 6 months, there was a significant separation of serum metabolites between groups with upregulation of phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism with prebiotic.

CONCLUSION

Prebiotics may hold promise for conservative management of knee osteoarthritis in adults with obesity and larger trials are warranted.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04172688.

Pathogenesis of gout: Exploring more therapeutic target

Gout is a chronic metabolic and immune disease, and its specific pathogenesis is still unclear. When the serum uric acid exceeds its saturation in the blood or tissue fluid, it is converted to monosodium urate crystals, which lead to acute arthritis of varying degrees, urinary stones, or irreversible peripheral joint damage, and in severe cases, impairment of vital organ function. Gout flare is a clinically significant state of acute inflammation in gout. The current treatment is mostly anti-inflammatory analgesics, which have numerous side effects with limited treatment methods. Gout pathogenesis involves many aspects. Therefore, exploring gout pathogenesis from multiple perspectives is conducive to identifying more therapeutic targets and providing safer and more effective alternative treatment options for patients with gout flare. Thus, this article is of great significance for further exploring the pathogenesis of gout. The author summarizes the pathogenesis of gout from four aspects: signaling pathways, inflammatory factors, intestinal flora, and programmed cell death, focusing on exploring more new therapeutic targets.

Leaky gut, circulating immune complexes, arthralgia, and arthritis in IBD: coincidence or inevitability?

Most host-microbiota interactions occur within the intestinal barrier, which is essential for separating the intestinal epithelium from toxins, microorganisms, and antigens in the gut lumen. Gut inflammation allows pathogenic bacteria to enter the blood stream, forming immune complexes which may deposit on organs. Despite increased circulating immune complexes (CICs) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and discussions among IBD experts regarding their potential pathogenic role in extra-intestinal manifestations, this phenomenon is overlooked because definitive evidence demonstrating CIC-induced extra-intestinal manifestations in IBD animal models is lacking. However, clinical observations of elevated CICs in newly diagnosed, untreated patients with IBD have reignited research into their potential pathogenic implications. Musculoskeletal symptoms are the most prevalent extra-intestinal IBD manifestations. CICs are pivotal in various arthritis forms, including reactive, rheumatoid, and Lyme arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Research indicates that intestinal barrier restoration during the pre-phase of arthritis could inhibit arthritis development. In the absence of animal models supporting extra-intestinal IBD manifestations, this paper aims to comprehensively explore the relationship between CICs and arthritis onset via a multifaceted analysis to offer a fresh perspective for further investigation and provide novel insights into the interplay between CICs and arthritis development in IBD.

Lactobacillus reuteri derived from horse alleviates Escherichia coli-induced diarrhea by modulating gut microbiota

Diarrhea is a prevalent health issue in farm animals and poses a significant challenge to the progress of animal husbandry. Recent evidence suggested that probiotics can alleviate diarrhea by maintaining gut microbial balance and enhancing the integrity of the intestinal barrier. However, there is a scarcity of studies investigating the efficacy of equine Lactobacillus reuteri in relieving E. coli-induced diarrhea. Hence, this study aimed to examine the potential of equine-derived Lactobacillus reuteri in alleviating E. coli diarrhea from the perspective of gut microbiota. Results demonstrated that supplementation of Lactobacillus reuteri had the potential to alleviate diarrhea induced by E. coli infection and restore the decline of tight junction genes, such as Claudin-1 and ZO-1. Additionally, Lactobacillus reuteri supplementation can restore the expression of inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) and reduce colon inflammatory damage. Diversity analysis, based on amplicon sequencing, revealed a significant reduction in the diversity of gut microbiota during E. coli-induced diarrhea. Moreover, there were notable statistical differences in the composition and structure of gut microbiota among the different treatment groups. E. coli could induce gut microbial dysbiosis by decreasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria, including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Ligilactobacillus, Enterorhabdus, and Lachnospiraceae_UCG_001, in comparison to the control group. Conversely, supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri could restore the abundance of beneficial bacteria and increase the diversity of the gut microbiota, thereby reshaping gut microbiota. Additionally, we also observed that supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri alone improved the gut microbial composition and structure. In summary, the findings suggest that Lactobacillus reuteri can alleviate E. coli-induced diarrhea by preserving the integrity of the intestinal barrier and modulating the composition of the gut microbiota. These results not only contribute to understanding of the mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of Lactobacillus reuteri in relieving diarrhea, but also provide valuable insights for the development of probiotic products aimed at alleviating diarrheal diseases.

Human breastmilk-derived Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis CCFM1269 regulates bone formation by the GH/IGF axis through PI3K/AKT pathway

Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis is a prevalent member of the gut microbiota of breastfed infants. In this study, the effects of human breastmilk-derived B.longum subsp. infantis CCFM1269 on bone formation in developing BALB/c mice were investigated. Newborn female and male mice were assigned to control group (administered saline), CCFM11269 group (administered B. longum subsp. infantis CCFM1269, 1 × 109 CFU/mouse/day) and I5TI group (administered B. longum subsp. infantis I5TI, 1 × 109 CFU/mouse/day) from 1-week-old to 3-, 4- and 5-week old. B. longum subsp. infantis I5TI served as a negative control in this study. The results demonstrated that B. longum subsp. infantis CCFM1269 promoted bone formation in growing mice by modulating the composition of the gut microbiota and metabolites. The expression of genes and proteins in the PI3K/AKT pathway was stimulated by B. longum subsp. infantis CCFM1269 through the GH/IGF-1 axis in growing mice. This finding suggests B. longum subsp. infantis CCFM1269 may be useful for modulating bone metabolism during growth.

Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis B6MNI Alleviates Collagen-Induced Arthritis in Rats via Regulating 5-HIAA and Pim-1/JAK/STAT3 Inflammation Pathways

The immunomodulatory potential of certain bacterial strains suggests that they could be beneficial in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study, we investigated the effects of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis B6MNI on the progression of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats as well as its influence on the gut microbiota and fecal metabolites. Forty-eight female Wistar rats were divided into six groups that included a B6MNI group with CIA and intragastrically administered B. longum subsp. infantis B6MNI (109 CFU/day/rat), a control group (CON), and a CIA group, both of which were intracardiacally administered the same volume of saline. Rats were sacrificed after short-term (ST, 4 weeks) or long-term (LT, 6 weeks) administration. The results indicate that B. longum subsp. infantis B6MNI can modulate the gut microbiota and fecal metabolites, including 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA), which in turn impacts the expression of Pim-1 and immune cell differentiation, then through the JAK-STAT3 pathway affects joint inflammation, regulates osteoclast differentiation factors, and delays the progression of RA. Our results also suggest that B. longum subsp. infantis B6MNI is most efficacious for the early or middle stages of RA.

Gut-Joint Axis: Impact of Bifidobacterial Cell Wall Lipoproteins on Arthritis Development

Gut microbiota affect progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The present study aims at investigating the protective potential of Bifidobacterium longum cell wall lipoproteins (Lpps) shown to modulate the intestinal microbiome and prevent osteoarthritis. Arthritis was induced by collagen (CIA) or anti-collagen antibodies (CAIA) injection. Intake of 0.5 mg of Lpps/L, but not 0.25 and 1 mg of Lpps/L, significantly alleviated RA symptoms in CIA DBA/1OOaHsd mice. The arthritis index (AI) was also reduced in CAIA mice. In the CIA-protected group, colon Ligilactobacillus murinus, caecal Lactobacillus johnsonii and spleen weight correlated with AI, whereas the reverse was observed with splenic CD11c+ dendritic cells (cDCs). The unprotected CIA Lpps group harbored higher cecal and colon E. coli and lower caecal L. murinus. Lpps administration to CAIA mice after arthritis induction led to lower colon E. plexicaudatum counts. Splenocytes from CIA-protected mice triggered by LPS secreted higher Il-10 than control ones. However, a higher IL-10 response was not elicited in gnotobiotic RA mice splenocytes with lower cDCs' recruitment. Labeled bacteria with the Lpps signal were detected in CIA mice bone marrow (BM) cDCs 5 and 16 h post-gavage but not in Peyer's patches and the spleen. In vitro uptake of Lpps by primary BM and thymus cells was observed within 24 h. An FACS analysis detected the Lpps signal in the plasmacytoid cell compartment but not in cDCs. In conclusion, Lpps dosing is critical for preventing arthritis progression and appropriately modulating the microbiome. Our results also highlight the possible triggering of the immune system by Lpps.

Dietary Habits and Metabolic Health

Dietary habits refer to the long-term dietary patterns and habits that an individual forms and maintains in their daily life [...].