Protective role of supplement with foreign Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in experimental hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury.
OBJECTIVE
Intestinal microflora play a crucial role in some severe liver diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a Lactobacillus strain and a Bifidobacterium strain on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) liver injury.


METHODS
Rats were divided into six groups. Each group received either Bifidobacterium Catenulatum ZYB0401; Lactobacillus Fermentum ZYL0401; a mixture of these two bacterial strains; gentamicin; or saline by daily gavage for 7 days. On the sixth day, all rats, except those in the control group, were subjected to 20 min of liver ischemia. After 22 h of hepatic reperfusion, liver enzymes and histology, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), endotoxemia, serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), intestinal bacteria, intestinal mucosal ultrastructure, and bacterial translocation were studied.


RESULTS
All administered bacteria increased intestinal Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, decreased endotoxemia (P < 0.01), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P < 0.01), and markedly ameliorated liver histology and intestinal mucosal ultrastructure. Only rats treated with Bifidobacterium Catenulatum ZYB0401 and Lactobacillus Fermentum ZYL0401 showed reduced incidence of bacterial translocation to the kidney (P < 0.05), associated with decreased serum TNF-alpha and liver MDA (P < 0.05) and increased liver SOD (P < 0.05) compared to the I/R group. Gentamicin decreased almost all kinds of intestinal bacteria (P < 0.01) and decreased ALT (P < 0.01) and serum TNF-alpha, but failed to reduce both endotoxemia and the incidence of bacterial translocation and had no effects on liver MDA and SOD.


CONCLUSIONS
Bifidobacterium Catenulatum ZYB0401 in combination with Lactobacillus Fermentum ZYL0401 could be useful in restoring intestinal microflora and in preventing liver injury in hepatic I/R of rats.
Xing
Hui-Chun
HC
Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Li
Lan-Juan
LJ
Xu
Kai-Jin
KJ
Shen
Tian
T
Chen
Yun-Bo
YB
Sheng
Ji-Fang
JF
Chen
Yu
Y
Fu
Su-Zhen
SZ
Chen
Chun-Lei
CL
Wang
Jian-Guo
JG
Yan
Dong
D
Dai
Fang-Wei
FW
Zheng
Shu-Sen
SS