Abstract
BackgroundConsumption of prebiotics may modulate gut microbiota, subsequently affecting the bacterial composition, metabolite profile, and human health. Previous studies indicate that also changes in intestinal integrity may occur. In order to explore this further we have investigated the effect of the putative prebiotic xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) on the gut microbiota and intestinal integrity in male Wistar rats. As changes in intestinal integrity may be related to the expected bifidogenic effect of XOS, we additionally addressed effects of supplementation with a commensal Bifidobacterium pseudolongum (BIF) isolated from the same breed of laboratory rats.ResultsChanges in faecal and caecal bacterial composition determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantitative PCR for selected bacterial groups revealed that the overall bacterial composition did not differ markedly between the control (CON), XOS, and BIF groups, when correcting for multiple comparisons. However as hypothesised, the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium spp. was increased in XOS-fed rats as compared to CON in faecal samples after the intervention. Also Lactobacillus spp. was increased in both the XOS and BIF groups in caecum content compared to CON. Intestinal permeability determined in vivo by FITC-dextran permeability and in vitro using extracted caecum water in trans-epithelial resistance (TER) assay showed no effect on intestinal integrity in either the XOS or the BIF groups. However, the expression of occludin, which is part of the tight junction complex, was increased in the XOS group compared to the CON group.ConclusionsSupplementation with XOS or a commensal Bifidobacterium pseudolongum had very limited effects on intestinal integrity in rats as only significant change in expression of a single tight junction protein gene was found for the XOS group.
Highlights
Consumption of prebiotics may modulate gut microbiota, subsequently affecting the bacterial composition, metabolite profile, and human health
We have recently shown a trend for an inverse association between the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium spp. in human faeces and the effect of faecal water on trans-epithelial resistance (TER) [11]
Bacterial composition Bacterial community analysis at phylum level based on 16S rRNA sequencing of faecal samples from 24 animals before intervention revealed variation in weight (g)
Summary
Consumption of prebiotics may modulate gut microbiota, subsequently affecting the bacterial composition, metabolite profile, and human health. We have recently shown a trend for an inverse association between the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium spp. in human faeces and the effect of faecal water on trans-epithelial resistance (TER) [11]. This does not necessarily implicate that bifidobacteria or lactobacilli are involved in the observed adverse effects, but the effects could be attributed to other factors, such as changes in non-investigated bacterial groups. The study provides new insights into understanding interactions between gut bacterial community composition and intestinal integrity
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