Protective effects of Bifidobacterium adolescentis on collagen-induced arthritis in rats depend on timing of
Zhexin Fan1, Bo Yang, R Paul Ross
1State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
Insights
Early administration of Bifidobacterium adolescentis probiotic is more effective in preventing and treating rheumatoid arthritis in rats than later treatment. This approach helps rebalance gut microbiota and reduce inflammation.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Gut microbiota dysbiosis is a key factor in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis.
- Early intervention targeting gut microbiota may prevent or alleviate RA symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of early (preventive) versus late (therapeutic) Bifidobacterium adolescentis administration in a rat model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA).
Main Methods:
- Rats were treated with Bifidobacterium adolescentis either before or after CIA induction.
- Clinical symptoms, inflammatory markers, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels, gut microbiota composition, auto-antibodies, and tight junction proteins were assessed.
Main Results:
- Preventive B. adolescentis treatment significantly reduced clinical arthritis symptoms compared to therapeutic treatment.
- Early administration restored gut microbiota balance, normalized SCFA levels, and modulated pro- and anti-inflammatory responses more effectively.
- Late treatment resulted in distinct gut microbial profiles and showed minor differences in auto-antibodies and tight junction proteins.
Conclusions:
- Early intervention with probiotics like Bifidobacterium adolescentis shows greater potential for alleviating arthritis than late-stage treatment.
- Timing of probiotic administration is crucial for effectively modulating gut microbiota and immune responses in arthritis.
Abstract:
Emerging studies have addressed the role of probiotics in inflammation modulation via modifying gut microbiota. Perturbed gut microbiota is recognized as a pivotal trigger in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and manipulating gut microbiota at the early phase may be helpful to alleviate the disease based on the fact that dysbiosis occurred prior to clinical arthritis. The current study compared the effects of preventive and therapeutic treatment with Bifidobacterium adolescentis on collagen induced arthritis (CIA) in rats. Early B. adolescentis administration before CIA modelling performed better than late B. adolescentis treatment in reducing the clinical symptoms, rebalancing the pro- and anti-inflammatory responses and maintaining the fecal concentration of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), as well as restoring the intestinal dysbiosis. Preventive B. adolescentis treatment restored the gut microbiota to a normal level while late B. adolescentis fed rats showed clearly different gut microbial profiles. In addition, there were slight discrepancies between early- and late- treatment of B. adolescentis in the production of specific auto-antibodies and tight junction proteins. All those results highlighted that early treatment of probiotics in arthritis might be a better timing for alleviating arthritis.
