Probiotics Improve Flora Alternation and Memory Deficits in Aged Mice

Abstract

Probiotics, multi‐species live microorganisms, can delay the progression of some neurodegenerative diseases. However, the effects of probiotics on the gut‐brain axis remain unclear, particularly in the context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. The senescence‐accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mouse strain is used as an aging model. To investigate the effects of probiotics, 9‐month‐old male SAMP8 mice were treated with probiotics (four species of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) for 12 weeks. The results demonstrated that probiotics treatment significantly reduced memory deficits, neuronal loss and synaptophysin. 16S RNA analysis revealed that the microbiome composition in the brain and feces was modified by probiotic treatment. In addition, probiotic treatment reduced aging‐induced intestinal barrier and blood‐brain barrier injury. Probiotic treatment also significantly reduced lipopolysaccharide concentrations both in the brain and plasma. Probiotics significantly decreased the immunoreactivity of ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule‐1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein, the expression of Toll‐like receptor 4, the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor‐κB, and mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor‐α and interleukin‐6) in the brain. These findings indicate that the cognitive‐enhancing effects of probiotics in aged SAMP8 mice may be modulated by the gut‐brain axis and the inhibition of inflammation via the LPS‐TLR4/NF‐κB signaling pathway.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported partly by Sichuan University ‐ Luzhou Project (2016CDLZ‐S16), targeting drug delivery system of Sichuan Province Youth Science and Technology Innovation Team (2016TD0001) and 111 Project of the National Ministry of Education (B18035).This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.