Protective effects of bifidobacteria on intestines in newborn rats with necrotizing enterocolitis and its regulation on TLR2 and TLR4

Abstract

ABSTRACT. We established a necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) rat model and explored the role of bifidobacteria in the intestines of the rats and its regulation on intestinal Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Seventyfive newborn Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (15 rats/group): group A, artificial feeding group (formula-fed); group B, NEC model (LPS + formula-fed); group C, bifidobacterium (LPS + formula-fed + bifidobacterium microcapsules, intragastric administration); group D, artificial feeding + bifidobacterium (formulafed + bifidobacterium microcapsules gavage); group E, rat breastfeeding group (rat breast-feeding). After 3 days of feeding, rats were placed in incubators, fasted for 12 h, and killed by decapitation. The ileocecal proximal segment ileum was fixed and sliced; pathological examination was conducted, and TLR2, TLR4, and nuclear factorkB p65 protein expression in the intestinal tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. There was a statistically significant difference 11506 W. Zhou et al. ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 14 (3): 11505-11514 (2015) in pathological scores between groups C and B (H = 21.789, P = 0.000), and the former was lower than the latter. TLR2, TLR4, and nuclear factor-kB p65 expression in intestinal tissue was determined in groups A-E. There were statistically significant differences between groups C and B (P = 0.001; P = 0.000; P = 0.000). Bifidobacteria had a protective effect on the intestines of newborn rats with NEC, which showed reduced NEC and intestinal damage severity. This observation may be related to the reduced levels of TLR2, TLR4, and nuclear factor-kB P65 observed during the inflammatory response.

Effects of probiotics on experimental necrotizing enterocolitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Eleven studies were conducted in preterm animal models (42-52), 11 in term newborn animals (53-63), and the remaining 7 studied term animals at 2-4 weeks of age (42,(64)(65)(66)(67)(68)(69). Twenty-five studies used single-strain probiotics (42,43,(46)(47)(48)50,(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62)(63)(64)(65)(66)(67)(68)(69)(70) and four used multi-strain probiotics (44,45,49,51). The median sample size in the included studies was 72 (interquartile range: 36-96; range: ).…”

“…The median sample size in the included studies was 72 (interquartile range: 36-96; range: ). Twenty-one of the 29 trials reported the incidence of histologically proven NEC (42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(64)(65)(66)(67) ( Supplementary Table S1). The remaining eight RCTs (52,(60)(61)(62)(63)(68)(69)(70) assessed the pathways of benefits of probiotics in reducing NEC but did not give data on the incidence, severity, or histology of NEC ( Supplementary Table S2).…”

“…Khailova et al (70) in 2010 and Khailova et al (46) in 2009 were two separate publications from the same RCT with different primary outcomes. A total of 11 studies used Bifidobacteria (43,(46)(47)(48)50,53,54,57,62,65,68), 9 studies used Lactobacilli (42,55,56,58,59,63,66,67,69), 3 used both Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli (44,45,51), 3 used Saccharomyces (60,61,64), 1 study used Lactococci (52), and 1 study tested 5 different strains individually or in combination (49). The daily dose of probiotics ranged from 5 million to 24 billion colonyforming units (CFU).…”

Psychobiotics and the Manipulation of Bacteria–Gut–Brain Signals

“…While rigorous mechanistic descriptions of the relationship between MAMPs, pattern-recognition receptors, and reductions in inflammation are lacking, one intriguing hypothesis is that beneficial bacteria might serve as physical barriers that block pathogenic MAMPs (e.g., lipopolysaccharides) from activating host pattern-recognition receptors such as TLR2 and TLR4 by binding to them instead, thereby preventing pro-inflammatory responses [95].…”

Finding the needle in the haystack: systematic identification of psychobiotics

“…MAMPs are thought to trigger such anti‐inflammatory cytokines as IL‐10 by stimulating pattern‐recognition receptors (Chu and Mazmanian, ). In particular, some beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacteria appear to prevent TLRs being activated and initiating a pro‐inflammatory response (Zhou et al ., ). Prebiotics and probiotics have been shown to interact with TLRs initiating both pro‐inflammatory and anti‐inflammatory responses (Takeda and Akira, ).…”