Effect of Lacticaseibacillus casei Zhang on iron status, immunity, and gut microbiota of mice fed with low-iron diet

Abstract

• The low-iron diet significantly changed the structure of the gut microbiota and reduced bacterial diversity. • LCZ supplementation significantly reduced serum IL-18 level, a pro-inflammatory cytokine. • LCZ mitigated serum total iron binding capacity (TIBC) level elevation induced by the low-iron diet in mice. Nutritional iron deficiency is a common health problem. In this study, the fecal metagenomes, serum cytokine profiles, and iron status of four mouse groups (n = 8 per group), i.e., CT (control diet), LI (low-iron diet), CTL (control diet with Lacticaseibacillus casei Zhang, LCZ), and LIL (LI with LCZ) were compared after dietary intervention. Significant differences were observed in the fecal microbiota diversity and structure between groups at week 8, with diminished microbial diversity in the LI group. LCZ supplementation could regulate the microbiota diversity. The pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-18 significantly increased in mice received low-iron diet compared with those in the probiotic group (low-iron diet), suggesting LCZ possibly exerted anti-inflammatory effect on the low-iron diet mice. Additionally, LCZ supplementation decreased the serum total iron binding capacity (TIBC) level in mice ( P < 0.05). Altogether, our data showed that LCZ supplementation partially protected mice given low-iron diet from gut dysbiosis and improved their iron status.