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. 2021 Mar 29;13(4):1115.
doi: 10.3390/nu13041115.

The Effects of Pro-, Pre-, and Synbiotics on Muscle Wasting, a Systematic Review-Gut Permeability as Potential Treatment Target

Sandra J van Krimpen  1 , Fleur A C Jansen  1 , Veerle L Ottenheim  1 , Clara Belzer  2 , Miranda van der Ende  1 , Klaske van Norren  1
Affiliations

The Effects of Pro-, Pre-, and Synbiotics on Muscle Wasting, a Systematic Review-Gut Permeability as Potential Treatment Target

Sandra J van Krimpen et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Muscle wasting is a frequently observed, inflammation-driven condition in aging and disease, known as sarcopenia and cachexia. Current treatment strategies target the muscle directly and are often not able to reverse the process. Because a reduced gut function is related to systemic inflammation, this might be an indirect target to ameliorate muscle wasting, by administering pro-, pre-, and synbiotics. Therefore, this review aimed to study the potential of pro-, pre-, and synbiotics to treat muscle wasting and to elucidate which metabolites and mechanisms affect the organ crosstalk in cachexia. Overall, the literature shows that Lactobacillus species pluralis (spp.) and possibly other genera, such as Bifidobacterium, can ameliorate muscle wasting in mouse models. The beneficial effects of Lactobacillus spp. supplementation may be attributed to its potential to improve microbiome balance and to its reported capacity to reduce gut permeability. A subsequent literature search revealed that the reduction of a high gut permeability coincided with improved muscle mass or strength, which shows an association between gut permeability and muscle mass. A possible working mechanism is proposed, involving lactate, butyrate, and reduced inflammation in gut-brain-muscle crosstalk. Thus, reducing gut permeability via Lactobacillus spp. supplementation could be a potential treatment strategy for muscle wasting.

Keywords: Lactobacillus; cachexia; gut–brain axis; intestinal permeability; muscle wasting; prebiotics; probiotics; sarcopenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of (A) the identified, screened, and included studies on the effect of pro-, pre-, and synbiotics on muscle wasting [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21] and (B) on the relationship between gut permeability and muscle wasting [15,16,20,22,23,24,25,26].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hypothesis on the mechanism behind the reported effects of probiotics on muscle wasting, involving the organ crosstalk during cancer cachexia. On the left-hand side, the situation when gut permeability is high is illustrated. On the right-hand side, the effect of probiotics is shown. The probiotics inhibit gut permeability and thus improve gut function, reduce inflammation, and consequently ameliorate muscle wasting. LPS: lipopolysaccharide; SCFA: short-chain fatty acid
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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