Vital members in the gut microbiotas altered by two probiotic Bifidobacterium strains against liver damage in rats

Li-Ya Yang,Kevin Chang,Jiao-Jiao Xie,Ding Shi,Qiao-Mai Xu,Dai-Qiong Fang,Ya-Ting Li,Aimee van der Reis,Lan-Juan Li,Hua Zha

doi:10.1186/s12866-020-01827-2

Abstract

BackgroundProbiotics are effective to rectify the imbalanced gut microbiota in the diseased cohorts. Two Bifidobacterium strains (LI09 and LI10) were found to alleviate D-galactosamine-induced liver damage (LD) in rats in our previous work. A series of bioinformatic and statistical analyses were performed to determine the vital bacteria in the gut microbiotas altered by the LI09 or LI10 in rats.ResultsTwo groups of representative phylotypes could distinguish the gut microbiotas of LI09 or LI10 groups from the other groups. Among them, OTU170_Porphyromonadaceae acted as a gatekeeper in LI09 group, while OTU12_Bacteroides was determined with multiple correlations in the gut network of LI10 group. Multiple reduced OTUs associated with LC and increased OTUs associated with health were determined in LI09 or LI10 groups, among which, increased OTU51_Barnesiella and reduced OTU99_Barnesiella could be associated with the protective effects of both the two probiotics. The gut microbiotas in LI09, LI10 and positive control groups were clustered into three clusters, i.e., Cluster_1_Microbiota, Cluster_2_Microbiota and Cluster_3_Microbiota, by Partition Around Medoids clustering analysis. Cluster_2_Microbiota was determined at least dysbiotic status due to its greatest LD dysbiosis ratio, lowest levels of liver function variables and plasma cytokines compared with the two other clustered microbiotas, suggesting the treated rats in Cluster_2 were at better health status.ConclusionOur findings suggest that OTU170_Porphyromonadaceae and OTU12_Bacteroides are vital in the gut microbiotas altered by LI09 and LI10. Characteristics of the LD cohorts treated by LI09 or LI10 at different gut microbial colonization states could help monitor the cohorts’ health status.

Highlights

Probiotics are effective to rectify the imbalanced gut microbiota in the diseased cohorts
Representative operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and functional metabolites associated with the gut microbiotas altered by LI09 or LI10 Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) Effect Size (LEfSe) identified multiple representative OTUs to the gut microbiotas altered by LI09 or LI10 (Fig. 1)
Three out of nine plasma cytokines, Vital members in the gut microbiotas altered by LI09 or LI10 Some phylotypes associated with health or liver damage (LD) may contribute to the protective effects of both LI09 and LI10

Summary

Introduction

Probiotics are effective to rectify the imbalanced gut microbiota in the diseased cohorts. Two Bifidobacterium strains (LI09 and LI10) were found to alleviate D-galactosamine-induced liver damage (LD) in rats in our previous work. The beneficial effects of probiotics against diseases have been well reported [8,9,10,11,12], and different probiotics were proved capable of rectifying an imbalanced gut microbiome in LD cohorts or animal models [13,14,15,16]. L. plantarum (DSM 15313) and Bifidobacterium infantis (DSM 15159) were able to reduce alanine aminotransferase and increase liver glutathione levels in endotoxin- and D-galactosamineinduced LD [18]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion