title: Effects of Bifidobacterium breve on inflammatory gene expression in neonatal and weaning rat intestine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To examine the immune-modulatory effects of probiotics during early infancy, Bifidobacterium breve M-16V (B. breve) was administered to rat pups during the newborn or weaning period, and the expression of inflammatory genes was investigated using a cDNA microarray and real-time PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After B. breve administration, significant increases in the numbers of Bifidobacterium in both the cecum and colon were confirmed during the newborn period. The numbers of upregulated and downregulated genes were greater during the weaning period than in the newborn period and were greatest in the colon, with fewer genes altered in the small intestine and the fewest in the spleen. The expression of inflammation-related genes, including lipoprotein lipase (Lpl), glutathione peroxidase 2 (Gpx2), and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (Lbp), was significantly reduced in the colon during the newborn period. In weaning rat pups, the expression of CD3d, a cell surface receptor-linked signaling molecule, was significantly enhanced in the colon; however, the expression of co-stimulatory molecules was not enhanced.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings support a possible role for B. breve in mediating anti-inflammatory and antiallergic reactions by modulating the expression of inflammatory molecules during the newborn period and by regulating the expression of co-stimulatory molecules during the weaning period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Gene expression in the intestine was investigated after feeding 5 × 10(8) cfu of B. breve every day to the F344/Du rat from days 1 to 14 (newborn group) and from days 21 to 34 (weaning group). mRNA was extracted from intestine, and the expression of inflammatory gene was analyzed by microarray and real-time PCR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Adolescence Medicine, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. yohtsuka@juntendo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohtsuka
authors.forename: Takako
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikegami
authors.forename: Hirohisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Namura
authors.forename: Tomomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Tamaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikuse
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.forename: Ryuyo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D051381:Rats; D014886:Weaning