Abstract
Dietary probiotics may enhance gut health by directly competing with pathogenic agents and through immunostimulatory effects. These properties are recognized in the context of bacterial and viral pathogens, but less is known about interactions with eukaryotic pathogens such as parasitic worms (helminths). In this study we investigated whether two probiotic mixtures (comprised of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, B. subtilis, and Enterococcus faecium [BBE], or Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG and Bifidobacterium animalis subspecies Lactis Bb12 [LB]) could modulate helminth infection kinetics as well as the gut microbiome and intestinal immune responses in pigs infected with the nodular worm Oesophagostomum dentatum. We observed that neither probiotic mixture influenced helminth infection levels. BBE, and to a lesser extent LB, changed the alpha- and beta-diversity indices of the colon and fecal microbiota, notably including an enrichment of fecal Bifidobacterium spp. by BBE. However, these effects were muted by concurrent O. dentatum infection. BBE (but not LB) significantly attenuated the O. dentatum-induced upregulation of genes involved in type-2 inflammation and restored normal lymphocyte ratios in the ileo-caecal lymph nodes that were altered by infection. Moreover, inflammatory cytokine release from blood mononuclear cells and intestinal lymphocytes was diminished by BBE. Collectively, our data suggest that selected probiotic mixtures can play a role in maintaining immune homeostasis during type 2-biased inflammation. In addition, potentially beneficial changes in the microbiome induced by dietary probiotics may be counteracted by helminths, highlighting the complex inter-relationships that potentially exist between probiotic bacteria and intestinal parasites.
Highlights
The mammalian gut environment is maintained in a complex homeostasis encompassing interactions between dietary compounds, the commensal gut microbiota (GM) and the mucosal immune system [1]
Eight - ten week old pigs (n=48) were divided into three groups (Supplementary Figure 1). 16 pigs received only the basal control diet throughout the study, 16 pigs received the basal diet supplemented with a mixture of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens B. subtilis, and Enterococcus faecium, and 16 pigs received the basal diet supplemented with a mixture of Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp
To explore the effects of probiotics on the response to helminth infection, we quantified the effect of probiotic supplementation on intestinal physicochemical parameters and parasite establishment and development
Summary
The mammalian gut environment is maintained in a complex homeostasis encompassing interactions between dietary compounds, the commensal gut microbiota (GM) and the mucosal immune system [1] Dysregulation of this balanced ecosystem can lead to increased susceptibility to pathogen infection and chronic inflammation, and is a major source of disease and morbidity in humans and decreased productivity in livestock. To this end, dietary supplementation with probiotic bacteria has gained increasing attention as a safe method to maintain intestinal homeostasis, subsequently improving gut health. In vitro and murine models of Giardia infection have shown that Lactobacillus spp. and Enterococcus faecium can eliminate infection and reinforce host immune responses [10,11,12]
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