Protective effects of Lactobacillus paracasei F19 in a rat model of oxidative and metabolic hepatic injury

Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2010 Sep;299(3):G669-76. doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00188.2010. Epub 2010 Jun 24.

Abstract

The liver is susceptible to such oxidative and metabolic stresses as ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) and fatty acid accumulation. Probiotics are viable microorganisms that restore the gut microbiota and exert a beneficial effect on the liver by inhibiting bacterial enzymes, stimulating immunity, and protecting intestinal permeability. We evaluated Lactobacillus paracasei F19 (LP-F19), for its potential protective effect, in an experimental model of I/R (30 min ischemia and 60 min reperfusion) in rats fed a standard diet or a steatogen [methionine/choline-deficient (MCD)] diet. Both groups consisted of 7 sham-operated rats, 10 rats that underwent I/R, and 10 that underwent I/R plus 8 wk of probiotic dietary supplementation. In rats fed a standard diet, I/R induced a decrease in sinusoid perfusion (P < 0.001), severe liver inflammation, and necrosis besides an increase of tissue levels of malondialdehyde (P < 0.001), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (P < 0.001), interleukin (IL)-1beta (P < 0.001), and IL-6 (P < 0.001) and of serum levels of transaminase (P < 0.001) and lipopolysaccharides (P < 0.001) vs. sham-operated rats. I/R also induced a decrease in Bacterioides, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus spps (P < 0.01, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively) and an increase in Enterococcus and Enterobacteriaceae (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively) on intestinal mucosa. The severity of liver and gut microbiota alterations induced by I/R was even greater in rats with liver inflammation and steatosis, i.e., MCD-fed animals. LP-F19 supplementation significantly reduced the harmful effects of I/R on the liver and on gut microbiota in both groups of rats, although the effect was slightly less in MCD-fed animals. In conclusion, LP-F19 supplementation, by restoring gut microbiota, attenuated I/R-related liver injury, particularly in the absence of steatosis.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Choline / metabolism*
  • Diet
  • Endotoxins
  • Lactobacillus*
  • Liver / blood supply
  • Liver / pathology
  • Liver Diseases / drug therapy*
  • Liver Diseases / pathology
  • Methionine / deficiency*
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Oxidative Stress
  • Probiotics / therapeutic use*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Reperfusion Injury
  • Transaminases / blood

Substances

  • Endotoxins
  • Methionine
  • Transaminases
  • Choline