Effect of probiotic strains upon intestinal immune system under cold stress

Abstract

Gut microbiome changes can be considered as a causative factor of stress-associated intestinal diseases. The aim of the investigation was to study the effects of the oral probiotic strains Lactobacillus casei LB 148 and E. coli EB 387 onto gut microbiota, as well as the intestinal immune system of rats Sprague Dawley in a healthy state and under cold stress. There are no strict official recommendations here in the Russian Federation for preclinical studies of new probiotic strains. Here we describe a method used to estimate the safety and effectiveness of the oral use of a probiotic. It is cheap and simple, so we recommend using it at least for the screening search of effective and safe probiotics. The number of Peyer’s patches in the small intestine of rats in different compartments was counted and then compared between different groups of rats. After cold stress there was a change in the number of Peyer’s patches together with microbiota shifts. Lactobacillus casei LB 148 as well as E. coli EB 387 protected the immune system against the stress effects.