๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ is recognized for its potential probiotic properties, particularly its immunomodulatory effects. However, the influence of ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ on gut microbiota composition, especially concerning dose and sex-specific responses, remains underexplored.
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of different doses of multi-strain ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ on the gut microbiota composition of male and female rats.
Methods :
Thirty Wistar rats (fifteen males, fifteen females) were divided into control (CTL), L. fermentum at 10^8 CFU (Lf-108), and ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ at 10^10 CFU (Lf-1010) groups. The rats received treatments for 13 weeks, after which gut microbiota composition and serum cytokine levels were assessed.
Key Scientific Findings:
- Sex-Specific Differences: Male CTL rats exhibited lower alpha diversity and a higher ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด/๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด (F/B) ratio compared to females. These differences suggest a sex-specific baseline gut microbiota composition.
- Effect of ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ on Gut Microbiota:
- Lf-108 decreased ๐๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ฎ in females, while Lf-1010 increased ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ฆ and gut microbiota diversity in males.
- Treatment with ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ reduced the F/B ratio in male rats, indicating a potential shift towards a healthier gut microbiota profile.
Genus-Level Changes:
- Lf-108 increased ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด abundance in females, while no change was observed in males. ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข levels remained unaffected in both sexes.
- Both doses altered the relative abundance of ๐๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ฆ, with a significant decrease observed in females.
Correlation with Cytokine Levels:
- Higher ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ฆ abundance correlated with reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines, while increased ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ฆ levels correlated with elevated anti-inflammatory cytokines.
Dose-Response Relationship: Lower doses of ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ may be more effective in enhancing Lactobacillus abundance in females, while higher doses may be more beneficial for gut microbiota diversity in males.
This study highlights sex-specific differences in gut microbiota composition and responses to L. fermentum treatment in rats. Lower doses of ๐๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ appear to have more favorable effects on gut microbiota in females, while higher doses exhibit greater benefits in males. These findings underscore the importance of considering sex and dose effects in probiotic interventions and provide insights for future translational research in humans.
Link to the study : https://tinyurl.com/mrxn2z5c
