title: Effects of NS Lactobacillus strains on lipid metabolism of rats fed a high-cholesterol diet.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Elevated serum cholesterol level is generally considered to be a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases which seriously threaten human health. The cholesterol-lowering effects of lactic acid bacteria have recently become an area of great interest and controversy for many researchers. In this study, we investigated the effects of two NS lactobacillus strains, Lactobacillus plantarum NS5 and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus NS12, on lipid metabolism of rats fed a high cholesterol diet.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two SD rats were assigned to four groups and fed either a normal or a high-cholesterol diet. The NS lactobacillus treated groups received the high-cholesterol diet supplemented with Lactobacillus plantarum NS5 or Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus NS12 in drinking water. The rats were sacrificed after a 6-week feeding period. Body weights, visceral organ and fat weights, serum and liver cholesterol and lipid levels, intestinal microbiota and liver mRNA expression levels related to cholesterol metabolism were analyzed. Liver lipid deposition and adipocyte size were evaluated histologically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with rats fed a high cholesterol diet, serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and free fatty acids levels were decreased and apolipoprotein A-I level was increased in NS5 or NS12 strain treated rats, and with no significant change in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. Liver cholesterol and triglyceride levels were also significantly decreased in NS lactobacillus strains treated groups. Meanwhile, the NS lactobacillus strains obviously alleviated hepatic injuries, decreased liver lipid deposition and reduced adipocyte size of high cholesterol diet fed rats. NS lactobacillus strains restored the changes in intestinal microbiota compositions, such as the increase in Bacteroides and the decrease in Clostridium. NS lactobacillus strains also regulated the mRNA expression levels of liver enzymes related to cholesterol metabolism, including the down regulation of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) and the upregulation of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggested that the two NS lactobacillus strains may affect lipid metabolism and have cholesterol-lowering effects in rats fed a high cholesterol diet.
authors: Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors: Xu
authors: X
authors: Hu
authors: Tao
authors: T
authors: Wang
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Li
authors: Feng
authors: F
authors: Jin
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D002790:Cholesterol 7-alpha-Hydroxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D048668:Lactobacillus delbrueckii / Q000737:chemistry*; D048191:Lactiplantibacillus plantarum / Q000737:chemistry*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D064307:Microbiota; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D002785:Sterol O-Acyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D002784:Cholesterol; C532838:CYP7A1 protein, rat; D002790:Cholesterol 7-alpha-Hydroxylase; D002785:Sterol O-Acyltransferase
references: Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 Feb;49(2):377-81
references: 3920964
references: Diabetes. 2008 Jun;57(6):1470-81
references: 18305141
references: Int J Food Microbiol. 2007 Feb 15;113(3):358-61
references: 17140690
references: J Intern Med. 2006 May;259(5):493-519
references: 16629855
references: Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2010 Feb 16;9:9
references: 20158910
references: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Jan 19;(1):CD004816
references: 21249663
references: J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Feb;18(1):43-50
references: 10067658
references: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2002 Sep;68(9):4689-93
references: 12200334
references: Nutrition. 2010 Mar;26(3):321-30
references: 19695834
references: Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2012 Jan;28(1):63-9
references: 22080827
references: J Clin Invest. 1995 Aug;96(2):700-9
references: 7635963
references: J Lipid Res. 1972 May;13(3):402-12
references: 5025470
references: Nature. 2006 Dec 21;444(7122):1027-31
references: 17183312
references: BMJ. 1994 Feb 5;308(6925):363-6
references: 8124143
references: Int J Mol Sci. 2010 Jun 17;11(6):2499-522
references: 20640165
references: J Atheroscler Thromb. 2010 Aug 31;17(8):796-804
references: 20379054
references: J Lipid Res. 2010 May;51(5):1101-12
references: 20040631
references: Clin Chem Lab Med. 2004;42(12):1355-63
references: 15576296
references: Am J Clin Nutr. 1974 May;27(5):464-9
references: 4596028
references: Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2009;5:757-65
references: 19774217
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Nov 2;101(44):15718-23
references: 15505215
references: Eur J Clin Nutr. 1998 Jun;52(6):436-40
references: 9683397
references: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Mar;72(3):1729-38
references: 16517616
references: Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2004 Feb;14(2):72-6
references: 15030793
references: Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995 May;49(5):346-52
references: 7664720
references: Eur J Clin Nutr. 1996 Dec;50(12):811-5
references: 8968702
references: PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e41079
references: 22844426
references: J Am Coll Nutr. 2008 Aug;27(4):441-7
references: 18978162
references: N Engl J Med. 1992 May 21;326(21):1406-16
references: 1533273
references: Br J Nutr. 1996 Dec;76(6):857-67
references: 9014654
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Aug 2;102(31):11070-5
references: 16033867
references: Cardiovasc Drug Rev. 2003 Spring;21(1):33-50
references: 12595916
references: J Dairy Sci. 2005 Jan;88(1):55-66
references: 15591367
references: Nature. 1990 Feb 1;343(6257):425-30
references: 1967820
references: Science. 1986 Apr 4;232(4746):34-47
references: 3513311
references: J Dairy Sci. 2010 Apr;93(4):1383-92
references: 20338415
references: J Dairy Sci. 1997 Nov;80(11):2721-5
references: 9406066
references: J Dairy Sci. 2003 Jul;86(7):2452-61
references: 12906063
references: Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2006 Dec;16(8):531-5
references: 17126768
references: Nature. 1993 Apr 29;362(6423):801-9
references: 8479518