The biological effects of three probiotic strains Lactobacillus rhamnosus K32, Bifidobacterium longum GT15, Enterococcus faecium L3 and their mixture were studied using a model of dysbiosis induced in rats by antibiotics. It was found that after taking different probiotics intestinal microbiota changed in a strain-specific manner. The maximal activity against pathogens was revealed after the administration of a mixture of bacterial strains under study or a single strain of enterococci. The strain E. faecium L3 showed the most activity against both Klebsiella spp. and Bacteroides fragilis. It helped to restore the original content of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. The number of Klebsiella spp. was the same in the group receiving L. rhamnosus K32 and the group of animals, which was not consuming probiotics. Different probiotic strains included in the composition had various immunological effects. Probiotic bifidobacteria, enterococci and the mixture of three probiotics stimulated of mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-10 in mesenteric lymph nodes. The changes in microbiota after consuming an enterococcal probiotic correlated with an increase in transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and IL-10 content in blood serum and an increase of the intestinal mucus layer. Consumption of L. rhamnosus K32 led to the stimulation of IL-8 expression in mesenteric lymph nodes. Control group not receiving probiotics was characterised by expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, damage of epithelial cells and the destruction of their tight junctions. The damage to the ultrastructure of the mucosa was prevented in all the groups taking probiotics.
Keywords: cytokines; intestinal mucosa.