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Probiotics increase T regulatory cells and reduce severity of experimental colitis in mice
Hai-Mei Zhao1, Xiao-Ying Huang, Zhi-Qin Zuo
1Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology College, Nanchang 330025, Jiangxi Province, China.
Aim:
To investigate the effect of probiotics on regulating T regulatory cells and reducing the severity of experimental colitis in mice.
Methods:
Forty C57/BL mice were randomly divided into four groups. Colitis was induced in the mice using 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). After 10-d treatment with Bifico capsules (combined bifidobacterium, lactobacillus and enterococcus), body weight, colonic weight, colonic weight index, length of colon, and histological scores were evaluated. CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T cell in mesenteric lymph nodes were measured by flow cytometry, and cytokines in colonic tissue homogenates were analyzed by a cytometric bead array.
Results:
The colonic weight index and the colonic weight of colitis mice treated with Bifico were lower than that of TNBS-induced mice without treatment. However, colonic length and percent of body weight amplification were higher than in TNBS-induced mice without treatment. Compared with TNBS-induced mice without treatment, the level of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T cells in mesenteric lymph nodes, the expression of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4 and IL-10 in colonic tissues from colitis mice treated with Bifico were upregulated, and tumor necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ were downregulated.
Conclusion:
Probiotics effectively treat experimental colitis by increasing CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T cell and regulating the balance of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in the colonic mucosa.
