title: Anti-inflammatory and Intestinal Barrier-protective Activities of Commensal Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria in Thoroughbreds: Role of Probiotics in Diarrhea Prevention in Neonatal Thoroughbreds.
abstract: We previously isolated the commensal bacteria lactobacilli and bifidobacteria from the Thoroughbred intestine and prepared the horse probiotics LacFi(TM), consisting of Lactobacillus ruminis KK14, L. equi KK 15, L. reuteri KK18, L. johnsonii KK21, and Bifidobacterium boum HU. Here, we found that the five LacFi(TM) constituent strains remarkably suppressed pro-inflammatory interleukin-17 production in mouse splenocytes stimulated with interleukin-6 and transforming growth factor-β. The protective effects of the probiotic on impaired intestinal barrier function were evaluated in Caco-2 cells treated with tumor necrosis factor-α. Evaluation of transepithelial resistance showed that all the strains exhibited intestinal barrier protective activity, with significant suppression of barrier impairment by L. reuteri KK18. The LacFi(TM) constituent strains were detected in neonatal LacFi(TM)-administered Thoroughbred feces using polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and culture methods. These five strains were found to be the predominant lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the intestinal microbiota of LacFi(TM)-administered Thoroughbreds. Administration of LacFi(TM) to neonatal Thoroughbreds decreased diarrhea incidence from 75.9% in the control group (n=29 neonatal Thoroughbreds) to 30.7% in the LacFi(TM)-administered group (n=101 neonatal Thoroughbreds) immediately after birth to 20 weeks after birth. LacFi(TM) treatment also prevented diarrhea especially at and around 4 weeks and from 10 to 16 weeks. The duration of diarrhea was also shorter in the probiotics-administered group (7.4 ± 0.8 days) than in the control group (14.0 ± 3.2 days). These results indicate that the LacFi(TM) probiotics regulates intestinal function and contributes to diarrhea prevention.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-hiroshima 739-8528, Japan.
authors.forename: Soichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-hiroshima 739-8528, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-hiroshima 739-8528, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wasano
authors.affiliation: Northern Farm, Hokkaido 059-1432, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumihiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.affiliation: Northern Farm, Hokkaido 059-1432, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.affiliation: Northern Farm, Hokkaido 059-1432, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.affiliation: Northern Farm, Hokkaido 059-1432, Japan.
authors.forename: Natsuko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nagamine
authors.affiliation: Northern Farm, Hokkaido 059-1432, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsurumachi
authors.affiliation: Northern Farm, Hokkaido 059-1432, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugaya
authors.affiliation: Northern Farm, Hokkaido 059-1432, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akita
authors.affiliation: Crossfield-Bio Inc., Tokyo 103-0004, Japan.
authors.forename: Misako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan.
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.affiliation: Hidaka Training and Research Center, Japan Racing Association, Hokkaido 057-0171, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: Hidaka Training and Research Center, Japan Racing Association, Hokkaido 057-0171, Japan.
authors.forename: Yo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asai
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidetoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morita
keywords: Thoroughbred; diarrhea prevention; interleukin-17; probiotics