Dietary supplementation with Bifidobacterium lactis NCC2818 from weaning reduces local immunoglobulin production in lymphoid-associated tissues but increases systemic antibodies in healthy neonates

Lewis, M. C., Patel, D. V., Fowler, J., Duncker, S., Zuercher, A. W., Mercenier, A. and Bailey, M. (2013) Dietary supplementation with Bifidobacterium lactis NCC2818 from weaning reduces local immunoglobulin production in lymphoid-associated tissues but increases systemic antibodies in healthy neonates. British Journal of Nutrition, 110 (7). pp. 1243-1252. ISSN 1475-2662 doi: 10.1017/S0007114513000251

Abstract/Summary

Weaning is associated with a major shift in the microbial community of the intestine, and this instability may make it more acquiescent than the adult microbiota to long-term changes. Modulation achieved through dietary interventions may have potentially beneficial effects on the developing immune system, which is driven primarily by the microbiota. The specific aim of the present study was to determine whether immune development could be modified by dietary supplementation with the human probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis NCC2818 in a tractable model of weaning in infants. Piglets were reared by their mothers before being weaned onto a solid diet supplemented with B. lactis NCC2818, while sibling controls did not receive supplementation. Probiotic supplementation resulted in a reduction in IgA (P,0·0005) and IgM (P,0·009) production by mucosal tissues but had no effect on IgG production (P.0·05). Probiotic- supplemented pigs had more mast cells than unsupplemented littermates (P,0·0001), although numbers in both groups were low. In addition, the supplemented piglets made stronger serum IgG responses to fed and injected antigens (P,0·05). The present findings are consistent with B. lactis NCC2818 reducing intestinal permeability induced by weaning, and suggest that the piglet is a valuable intermediate between rodent models and human infants. The results also strongly suggest that measures of the effect of probiotic supplementation on the immune system need to be interpreted carefully as proxy measures of health benefit. However, they are useful in developing an understanding of the mechanism of action of probiotic strains, an important factor in predicting favourable health outcomes of nutritional intervention.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/33258
Identification Number/DOI	10.1017/S0007114513000251
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Food Microbial Sciences Research Group
Uncontrolled Keywords	dietary supplementation; Immune development; Mucosal immunology; Weaning
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item