title: Preventive rather than therapeutic treatment with high fiber diet attenuates clinical and inflammatory markers of acute and chronic DSS-induced colitis in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic inflammatory disorders with important impact on global health. Prebiotic and probiotic strategies are thought to be useful in the context of experimental IBD. Here, we compared the effects of preventive versus therapeutic treatment with a high fiber diet (prebiotic) in combination or not with Bifidobacterium longum (probiotic) in a murine model of chronic colitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Colitis was induced by adding dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) to drinking water for 6 days (acute colitis) or for 5 cycles of DSS (chronic colitis).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Administration of the high fiber diet protected from acute colitis. Protection was optimal when diet was started 20 days prior to DSS. A 5-day pretreatment with acetate, a short-chain fatty acid, provided partial protection against acute colitis. In chronic colitis, pretreatment with the high fiber diet attenuated clinical and inflammatory parameters of disease. However, when the treatment with the high fiber diet started after disease had been established, overall protection was minimal. Similarly, delayed treatment with acetate or B. longum did not provide any protection even when the probiotic was associated with the high fiber diet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preventive use of a high fiber diet or acetate clearly protects mice against acute and chronic damage induced by DSS in mice. However, protection is lost when therapies are initiated after disease has been established. These results suggest that any therapy aimed at modifying the gut environment (e.g., prebiotic or probiotic strategies) should be given early in the course of disease.
authors.affiliation: Immunopharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Letícia Malheiros
authors.initials: ALM
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.affiliation: Immunopharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 31270-901, Brazil.|Department of Nutrition, Nursing School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adaliene Versiani Matos
authors.initials: AVM
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Immunopharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 31270-901, Brazil.|Department of Nutrition, Nursing School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marina Chaves
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Immunopharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 31270-901, Brazil.|Department of General Pathology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Milene Alvarenga
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rachid
authors.affiliation: Immunopharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Larissa Fonseca
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: da Cunha Sousa
authors.affiliation: Biotherapeutic Agents, Department of Microbiology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flaviano
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dos Santos Martins
authors.affiliation: Immunobiology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Cristina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Gomes-Santos
authors.affiliation: Immunopharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Angelica Thomaz
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: Immunopharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 31270-901, Brazil. mmtex.ufmg@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mauro Martins
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Teixeira
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003092:Colitis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000178:diet therapy*; D003106:Colon / Q000382:microbiology; D016264:Dextran Sulfate / Q000009:adverse effects; D004032:Diet; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D056692:Prebiotics; D019936:Probiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D015415:Biomarkers; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D056692:Prebiotics; D016264:Dextran Sulfate
keywords: Colitis; DSS; High fiber diet; Inflammatory bowel disease