Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 14, 2017; 23(26): 4735-4743
Published online Jul 14, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i26.4735
Lactobacillus acidophilus alleviates pouchitis after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in rats
Yan-Yan Xu, Ying-Ying Zhang, An-Qi He, Kai-Yu Li, Sen-Yang Gao, Gang Liu
Yan-Yan Xu, Ying-Ying Zhang, An-Qi He, Kai-Yu Li, Sen-Yang Gao, Gang Liu, Department of General Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China
Author contributions: Liu G conceived and designed the study; Xu YY and Zhang YY collected the data; He AQ and Li KY contributed to data analysis; Xu YY, Gao SY and Zhang YY contributed to interpretation of the data; Liu G participated in streamlining the study protocol; Zhang YY, Xu YY and He AQ proofread the study protocol; Li KY and Gao SY supervised the data collection process; Li KY, Xu YY, Gao SY, Zhang YY and He AQ contributed to drafting the manuscript; all authors contributed to the revision of the manuscript and approved the final version.
Supported by Jie-Shou Li Gut Barrier Foundation, No. LJS_201008.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Institutional Review Board, Tianjin 300052, China.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Animal Ethical and Welfare Committee (IACUC protocol number: TMUaMEC2017001).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no financial or other conflicts of interest to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Gang Liu, MD, PhD, Department of General Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China. liugang@tjmugh.com.cn
Telephone: +86-22-60362365 Fax: +86-22-60362365
Received: February 6, 2017
Peer-review started: February 8, 2017
First decision: March 16, 2017
Revised: March 30, 2017
Accepted: May 4, 2017
Article in press: May 4, 2017
Published online: July 14, 2017
Abstract
AIM

To assess the therapeutic potential of Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA) for the treatment of pouchitis in a rat model.

METHODS

Sprague Dawley rats underwent proctocolectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis followed by administration of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) to induce pouchitis. Rats with pouchitis were randomly divided into three groups: no intervention (NI), normal saline (NS, 3 mL/d normal saline for 7 d), and LA (3 mL/d LA at 1× 1010 colony-forming units for 7 d). General body condition was recorded and pouch specimens were obtained for histological examination. mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α were determined by RT-PCR. Zonula occludens protein 1 (ZO-1) levels were measured by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

LA reduced weight loss associated with pouchitis (P < 0.05) and improved the symptoms of pouchitis in rats. Compared with the NI and NS groups, rats in the LA group showed earlier disappearance of hematochezia (6.17 ± 0.75, 6.50 ± 0.55, 3.17 ± 0.75, P < 0.05) and higher fecal scores (2.67 ± 0.48, 2.50 ± 0.51, 4.42 ± 0.50, respectively, P < 0.05). Histological scores were also lower in the LA group compared with the other two groups (7.17 ± 0.98, 8.00 ± 0.89, 4.00 ± 0.89, respectively, P < 0.05). mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α were significantly reduced, while IL-10 mRNA levels were significantly increased in the LA group (P < 0.05, respectively). ZO-1 protein levels were also significantly increased after administration of LA (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

LA alleviates pouchitis induced by DSS after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis by decreasing pro-inflammatory factors and increasing anti-inflammatory factors, and restoring ZO-1 expression in the mucosa.

Keywords: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Pouchitis, Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, Dextran sulfate sodium, Rats

Core tip: This study aimed to assess the therapeutic potential of Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA) for the treatment of pouchitis in a rat model. Rats with pouchitis were randomly divided into three groups: no intervention, normal saline (NS, 3 mL/d normal saline for 7 d), and LA (3 mL/d LA at 1 × 1010 colony-forming units for 7 d). General body condition was recorded and pouch specimens were obtained for histological examination. mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α were determined by RT-PCR. Zonula occludens protein 1 levels were measured by immunohistochemistry.