Beneficial effect of a mixture of vitamin-producing and immune-modulating lactic acid bacteria as adjuvant for therapy in a recurrent mouse colitis model

LEVIT, ROMINA; SAVOY DE GIORI, GRACIELA; DE MORENO DE LEBLANC, ALEJANDRA; LEBLANC, JEAN GUY

APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

SPRINGER

Año: 2019 vol. 103 p. 8937 - 8945

0175-7598

Inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic and relapsing-remitting disorders that affect the gastrointestinal tract. Previously, the administration of folate and riboflavin-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) or an immune-modulating strain showed beneficial effects as they were able to reduce the acute inflammation in mouse models. The aim of this work was to evaluate a mixture of vitamin-producing and immune-modulating LAB administering together with an anti-inflammatory drug during the remission period of a mouse model of recurrent colitis. BALB/c mice were intrarectally instilled with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) and those who recovered from this acute challenge were given the LAB mixture, mesalazine, or the combination of both (mesalazine + LAB) during 21 days, followed by a second challenge with TNBS. Control mice instilled with ethanol (vehicle of TNBS) and receiving the different treatments were also evaluated in order to study the effect of chronic anti-inflammatory therapy. The combination of mesalazine and LAB mixture was the most effective to decrease the intestinal damage at macroscopic and histological levels and to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) in intestinal fluids. In animals instilled with ethanol, mesalazine produced a loss of body weight and intestinal damages with increased IL-6. These side effects were prevented by the co-administration of mesalazine and the LAB mixture. The LAB blend did not affect the primary antiinflammatory treatment, was able to improve it, and also prevented the side effects of this therapy.