Characterization of the anti-inflammatory Lactobacillus reuteri BM36301 and its probiotic benefits on aged mice.
BACKGROUND
The gut microbiota is playing more important roles in host immune regulation than was initially expected. Since many benefits of microbes are highly strain-specific and their mechanistic details remain largely elusive, further identification of new probiotic bacteria with immunoregulatory potentials is of great interest.


RESULTS
We have screened our collection of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for their efficacy in modulating host immune response. Some LAB are characterized by suppression of TNF-α induction when LAB culture supernatants are added to THP-1 cells, demonstrating the LAB's anti-inflammatory potential. These suppressive materials were not inactivated by heat or trypsin. On the other hand, treatment of THP-1 directly with live bacterial cells identified a group of pro-inflammatory LAB, which stimulated significant production of TNF-α. Among those, we chose the Lactobacillus reuteri BM36301 as an anti-inflammatory strain and the L. reuteri BM36304 as a pro-inflammatory strain, and further studied their in vivo effects. We supplied C57BL/6 mice with these bacteria in drinking water while feeding them a standard diet for 20 weeks. Interestingly, these L. reuteri strains evoked different consequences depending on the gender of the mice. That is, males treated with anti-inflammatory BM36301 experienced less weight gain and higher testosterone level; females treated with BM36301 maintained lower serum TNF-α as well as healthy skin with active folliculogenesis and hair growth. Furthermore, while males treated with pro-inflammatory BM36304 developed higher serum levels of TNF-α and insulin, in contrast females did not experience such effects from this bacteria strain.


CONCLUSIONS
The L. reuteri BM36301 was selected as an anti-inflammatory strain in vitro. It helped mice maintain healthy conditions as they aged. These findings propose the L. reuteri BM36301 as a potential probiotic strain to improve various aspects of aging issues.
Research and Development, Benebios LLC, 10527 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA, 92843, USA. joon.lee@benebios.com.
Joon
J
Lee
Research and Development, Benebios LLC, 10527 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA, 92843, USA.
Woo
W
Yang
Research and Development, Benebios LLC, 10527 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA, 92843, USA.
Andrew
A
Hostetler
Research and Development, Benebios LLC, 10527 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA, 92843, USA.
Nathan
N
Schultz
400 Freimann Life Science Center, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.|Current address: Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, 225 Veterinary Medical Center, University of Minnesota, 1365 Gortner Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA.
Mark A
MA
Suckow
400 Freimann Life Science Center, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
Kay L
KL
Stewart
Research and Development, Benebios LLC, 10527 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA, 92843, USA.
Daniel D
DD
Kim
Research and Development, Benebios LLC, 10527 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA, 92843, USA. dhyungkim@gmail.com.
Hyung Soo
HS
Kim
D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D003470:Culture Media / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D006801:Humans; D052200:Limosilactobacillus reuteri / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D019936:Probiotics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Aging; Anti-inflammatory; C57BL/6 mice; Hair growth; L. reuteri; Lactic acid bacteria; Probiotics; Skin health; TNF-α; Testosterone