Lactobacillus plantarum ZJUIDS14 alleviates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice in association with modulation in the gut microbiota

Feiwei Cao; Qinchao Ding; Hui Zhuge; Shanglei Lai; Kaixin Chang; Chunyan Le; Guorong Yang; Teresa G Valencak; Songtao Li; Daxi Ren

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1071284

Lactobacillus plantarum ZJUIDS14 alleviates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice in association with modulation in the gut microbiota

Front Nutr. 2023 Jan 9:9:1071284. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1071284. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Feiwei Cao^{1

2}, Qinchao Ding^{1

2}, Hui Zhuge³, Shanglei Lai³, Kaixin Chang³, Chunyan Le³, Guorong Yang³, Teresa G Valencak¹, Songtao Li², Daxi Ren¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Sciences, Institute of Dairy Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
² School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
³ School of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

This present study was designed to explore the protective role of Lactobacillus plantarum ZJUIDS14 against Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) in a high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced C57BL/6 mice model. The probiotic (10⁹ CFU/every other day) was administered by oral gavage for 12 weeks. We found that L. plantarum ZJUIDS14 intervention significantly alleviated HFD related hepatic steatosis, liver damage, insulin resistance, and increased hepatic expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPAR-α) while stimulating the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Furthermore, L. plantarum ZJUIDS14 improved mitochondrial function as reflected by an increase in dynamin related protein 1 (DRP1) and a decrease of proteins associated with oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) after the treatment. Additionally, mice from the L. plantarum ZJUIDS14 group had a restored intestinal flora and homeostasis involving Coprostanoligenes group, Ruminococcaceae UCG-014, Allobaculum, Ruminiclostridium 1, and Roseburia. Meanwhile, these five genera exhibited a significant (negative or positive) association with ileum inflammation mRNA levels and SCFA contents, by Spearman's correlation analysis. In general, our data demonstrated that L. plantarum ZJUIDS14 mitigates hepatic steatosis and liver damage induced by HFD. Specifically, they strengthened the integrity of the intestinal barrier, regulated gut microbiota, and improved mitochondrial function. Our data provide an experimental basis for L. plantarum ZJUIDS14 as a promising candidate to prevent NAFLD.

Keywords: Lactobacillus plantarum ZJUIDS14; hepatic steatosis; intestinal microbiota; mitochondrial function; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Key R&D Program Projects in Zhejiang Province, China (Grant number 2019C02091), the Natural Science Foundation of China (81973041), and Zhejiang Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars (LR20H260001).