Intestinal anti-inflammatory effects of probiotics in DNBS-colitis via modulation of gut microbiota and microRNAs

Purpose Probiotics have been shown to exert beneficial effects in IBD although their exact mechanisms are not completely understood. The aim of the present study was to assess the intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of different probiotics (Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716, Lactobacillus salivarius CECT5713, Escherichia coli Nissle 1917, Saccharomyces boulardii CNCMI-745 in the dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS) model of mouse colitis and correlate it with the modifications of the gut microbiota and the immune response, focusing on miRNA expression. Methods The probiotics were daily administered orally for 25 days. On day 19 colitis was induced by rectal installation of DNBS. At the end of the treatment, mice were sacrificed and the colonic damage was assessed biochemically by analysing the expression of different markers involved in the immune response, including miRNAs; and the colonic microbiota by pyrosequencing. Probiotics properties were also evaluated in vitro in different immune cell types (CMT-93 intestinal epithelial cells and bone marrow-derived macrophages), where the expression of different mRNAs and miRNAs was examined. Results All the probiotics displayed intestinal anti-inflammatory effects but slightly different, especially regarding miRNAs expression. Likewise, the probiotics ameliorated the colitis-associated dysbiosis, although showing differences in the main bacterial groups affected. Conclusion Among the probiotics assayed, Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 and Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 appear to present the best intestinal anti-inflammatory effects, being the latter one of the few probiotics with reputed efficacy in human IBD. Therefore, Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 could be considered as a complementary nutritional strategy for IBD treatment.