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. 2021 Aug 11;9(10):5391-5401.
doi: 10.1002/fsn3.2486. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Lactobacillus casei relieves liver injury by regulating immunity and suppression of the enterogenic endotoxin-induced inflammatory response in rats cotreated with alcohol and iron

Xuelong Li  1   2 , Jianmin Han  1 , Ying Liu  3 , Hui Liang  1
Affiliations

Lactobacillus casei relieves liver injury by regulating immunity and suppression of the enterogenic endotoxin-induced inflammatory response in rats cotreated with alcohol and iron

Xuelong Li et al. Food Sci Nutr. .

Abstract

Excessive alcohol and iron intake can reportedly cause liver damage. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Lactobacillus casei on liver injury in rats co-exposed to alcohol and iron and evaluated its possible mechanism. Sixty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups for 12 weeks: the Control group (administered normal saline by gavage and provided a normal diet); alcohol +iron group (Model group, treated with alcohol [3.5-5.3 g/kg/day] by gavage and dietary iron [1,500 mg/kg]); Model group supplemented with L. casei (8 × 108 CFU kg-1 day-1) (L. casei group). Using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and transmission electron microscopy, we observed that L. casei supplementation could alleviate disorders associated with lipid metabolism, inflammation, and intestinal mucosal barrier injury. Moreover, levels of serum alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, triglyceride (TG), and hepatic TG were significantly increased in the model group; however, these levels were significantly decreased following the 12-week L. casei supplementation. In addition, we observed notable improvements in intestinal mucosal barrier function and alterations in T lymphocyte subsets and natural killer cells in L. casei-treated rats when compared with the model group. Furthermore, L. casei intervention alleviated serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β, accompanied by decreased serum endotoxin levels and downregulated expression of toll-like receptor 4 and its related molecules MyD88, nuclear factor kappa-B p65, and TNF-α. Accordingly, supplementation with L. casei could effectively improve liver injury induced by the synergistic interaction between alcohol and iron. The underlying mechanism for this improvement may be related to immune regulation and inhibition of enterogenic endotoxin-mediated inflammation.

Keywords: Lactobacillus casei; alcohol and iron; immunity; inflammatory; liver injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Effects of L. casei on body weight. Control: the control group; Model: the model group; Lactobacillus casei: the L. casei group. * p < .05 versus the control group, # p < .05 versus the model group
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Effects of L. casei on serum iron and liver iron concentration. SI: serum iron; LIC: liver iron concentration; Control: the control group; Model: the model group; Lactobacillus casei: the L. casei group. * p < .05 versus the control group, # p < .05 versus the model group
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Effects of L. casei on pathological changes in the liver (Hematoxylin–eosin [HE] Staining, ×200). 1: Mallory body; 2: fat vacuoles; 3: inflammatory cell infiltration; 4: vitreous degeneration of hepatocytes. (a) The control group; (b) the model group; (c) the L. casei group
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Effects of L. casei on ultrastructure changes in the liver (transmission electron microscopy, ×15,000). 1: nucleus; 2: mitochondria; 3: endoplasmic reticulum; 4: bile canaliculi; 5: lipid droplets. (a) The control group; (b) the model group; (c) the L. casei group
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Effects of L. casei on liver function and lipid metabolism. ALT: alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; GGT, gamma‐glutamyltransferase; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglyceride. Control: the control group; Model: the model group; Lactobacillus casei: the L. casei group. * p < .05 versus the control group, # p < .05 versus the model group
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Effects of L. casei on T lymphocyte subsets and NK cells. Control: the control group; Model: the model group; Lactobacillus casei: the L. casei group
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Effects of L. casei on the small intestinal tracer permeability (×400). (a) The control group; (b) the model group; (c) the L. casei group
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Effects of L. casei on tight junctions of intestinal epithelia (transmission electron microscope ×50,000). (a) The control group; (b) the model group; (c) the L. casei group. TJ, tight junctions; AJ, adherens junctions; DS, desmosomes
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
Effects of L. casei on endotoxin. Control: the control group; Model: the model group; Lactobacillus casei: the L. casei group. * p < .05 versus the control group, # p < .05 versus the model group
FIGURE 10
FIGURE 10
Effects of L. casei on TLR4 signaling pathway and inflammation. TNF‐α, tumor necrosis factor‐α; IL‐1β, interleukin‐1β. Control: the control group; Model: the model group; Lactobacillus casei: the L. casei group. * p < .05 versus the control group, # p < .05 versus the model group
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