Abstract
Aims: Lactobacillus strains have protective effects against heavy metals while relieving oxidative stress and modulating the immune response. Mechanisms that ameliorate heavy metal toxicity and the relationship between probiotics and gut barrier protection in the process of heavy metal pathogenesis was poorly understood.Methods and Results: In this study, Lactobacillus brevis 23017 (LAB, L. brevis 23017), a selected probiotics strain with strong mercury binding capacities, was applied to evaluate the efficiency against mercury toxicity in a mouse model. Histopathological results along with HE stains show that L. brevis 23017 protects the integrity of the small intestinal villus, which slows weight loss in response to Hg exposure. The qRT-PCR results demonstrate that L. brevis 23017 maintains a normal mucosal barrier via modulation of tight junction proteins. Importantly, the present study demonstrates that L. brevis 23017 effectively ameliorates injury of the small intestine by reducing intestinal inflammation and alleviating oxidative stress in animal models. Moreover, L. brevis 23017 blocks oxidative stress and inflammation through MAPK and NF-κB pathways, as shown by western blot.Conclusions: Together, these results reveal that L. brevis 23017 may have applications in the prevention and treatment of oral Hg exposure with fermented functional foods by protecting gut health in daily life.
Highlights
Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic elements, existing in a variety of sources in the environment, including fish and plants (Elisavet et al, 2014; Perello et al, 2015); it is introduced into the environment by industries that use electroplating, paint, and mining (Cano-Sancho et al, 2015)
The body weights of the LAB+Hg-12d and Hg-12d groups decreased in response to mercury exposure, but the rate of decrease was not as steep on days 8 and 9 compared with other days
We observed the changes of body weights in the LAB+Hg-12d and Hg-12d groups exhibited a point of inflection on the tenth day of exposure to mercury chloride, with the body weight of mice in the LAB+Hg-12d group increasing on the eleventh day
Summary
Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic elements, existing in a variety of sources in the environment, including fish and plants (Elisavet et al, 2014; Perello et al, 2015); it is introduced into the environment by industries that use electroplating, paint, and mining (Cano-Sancho et al, 2015). Recent research has revealed that oral Hg exposure affects the gut ecology, increasing inflammation and susceptibility to colitis in mice (Stejskal, 2013). There were a lot of research on the lactobacillus attenuates inflammation in mice by inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway (Lim et al, 2017). Both of the MAPK and NF-κB have been widely accepted to suppress the oxidative stress and inflammation by specific Lactobacillus via inhibiting NF-κB and p38 MAPK pathways (Chon et al, 2010; Saito et al, 2012). From the perspective of intestinal barrier function, it is possible to find some new discoveries
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