Probiotic Metabolites Promote Stem Cell Proliferation and Differentiation

Abstract

Probiotic metabolites (PM) impart numerous health benefits in human and may have a potential to induce cell proliferation and differentiation. We tested the effects of PM released by probiotics found in yogurts on stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Five different brands of yogurts (Oikos, Stonyfield, Yoplait, Chobani and Activia) often sold in the supermarkets were tested in this study. Yogurt cultures analyzed by Gram‐staining and DNA sequencing of 16s rRNA gene identified that these yogurts are not equally supplemented and include different types and various amounts of probiotics. The probiotics were cultured and the condition media containing PMs were collected and used in our study. To evaluate the effect of PM on stem cells, human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) were treated with probiotic conditioned media. We found that probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri conditioned media (LRCM) induced iPSC proliferation at lower doses but inhibited cell proliferation at higher doses. Additionally, expression of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and pluripotent stem cell factors, OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG transcripts was upregulated in iPSCs treated with LRCM. iPS cells exposed to LRCM during in vitro differentiation led to enhanced expression of myocyte markers, Nkx2.5 and cTnT. Consistently, sodium butyrate, a defined bacterial metabolite (short chain fatty acid), had similar effect on iPSC proliferation and expression of pluripotent markers and myocyte markers. In summary, we have demonstrated that probiotics in different brands of yogurts are diverse in their numbers, viability and composition. Further, our results show that PMs can potentiate iPS proliferation and induce cardiomyocyte differentiation. Our findings have laid a foundation for further investigation of how probiotics and its metabolites from yogurt affect human health and disease.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.