Abstract
This study aimed to assess whether a daily supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) can alter the body composition as well as bone turnover and the mechanical properties of the bones in systemic immunodeficiency. For this, we use an in vivo model of severe combined immunodeficient (scid) mice supplemented daily with LGG over 8 weeks period. After 8 weeks of the treatment, the animals were assessed by DEXA and then the blood was collected from the hepatic portal vein for bone turnover biomarkers; post-mortem, the caecum was removed for isolation and enumeration of the gut bacteria, while femurs/tibiae were excised for the assessment of their mechanical properties. LGG treatment affected the composition of the gut microbiota at the order level, and it decreased (P = 0.002) total adipose tissue content. Moreover, LGG treatment decreased the stiffness (N/mm) of both femurs (P = 0.008) and tibiae (P = 0.011). To conclude, this study shows that dietary supplementation with LGG in immunodeficient animals can alter mechanical properties of the long bones and concomitantly it can modify host’s total adiposity level.
Highlights
The role of gut microbiota in the regulation of host metabolism including mineral and lipid metabolism has been previously reported from in vivo models as well as from human trials
The aim of this study was to assess whether modifying the gut microflora with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) could alter bone turnover, the mechanical properties of the developing bones and body composition in systemic immunodeficiency in vivo
The main univariate effects were significant for LGG counts, total lactobacilli counts and total anaerobes counts but not for the enterobacteria counts; see Figure 1 for details
Summary
The role of gut microbiota in the regulation of host metabolism including mineral and lipid metabolism has been previously reported from in vivo models as well as from human trials. It has been shown in humanised GM animals that modification of the gut microbiota even with a single bacterial strain e.g. Lactobacillus rhamnosus can attenuate the hosts lipid and amino acid metabolism [2]. Previous work on the effects of gut microbiota modification on a host’s mineral and lipid metabolism was obtained from immunocompetent animals [1]-[3] and to our knowledge there was no information available on the effects of the gut microbiota on the bone and/or lipid metabolism in systemic immunodeficiency. We use severe combined immunodeficient (scid) mice [4] and LGG that originates from infant faeces [5] and has been shown to affect the host’s glucose, lipid and mineral metabolism in a conventional, immunocompetent murine in vivo models [3] [6]
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