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How fish oils could support our friendly bacteria
journal contribution
posted on 2020-01-31, 00:00 authored by KL Bentley-Hewitt, CE De Guzman, J Ansell, T Mandimika, A Narbad, EK LundCommensal gut bacteria are generally considered to be friendly bacteria, since they can help their host in numerous ways. These can include breaking down undigested food to produce metabolites (by‐products), which can be a fuel source for gut cells and can help to regulate the immune system, amongst many other beneficial functions that support the host's health. Probiotic bacteria are bacteria that offer a benefit to their host. They are used in dietary supplements and many are of the genus Lactobacilli.
We tested whether gut cells respond differently to a commensal bacterium (Lactobacillus gasseri) and two pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus), and also whether the responses could be altered with PUFAs. We used a cell co‐culture model containing a layer of colorectal cells, with immune cells in a porous compartment beneath. This model represents the outer cell lining of our lower gut and the immune cells that sit underneath in an area called the lamina propria.
We showed that commensal L. gasseri increased the secretion of the immune signalling protein TGF‐β1 (Transforming Growth Factor β1), along with increased expression of its encoding gene signal. TGF‐β1 has an important role in promoting tolerance towards commensal bacteria and has a role in dampening immune responses following inflammation. The pathogenic bacteria had no effect on the amount of TGF‐β1. Our results indicate that L. gasseri could have a way of promoting its own survival in the gut by inducing tolerance towards itself, an effect which pathogenic bacteria do not have. When eicosapentaenoic acid was added to the cell culture model along with L. gasseri, there was a greater increase in TGF‐β1 gene expression. This early research shows the potential of combining fish oil with probiotic bacteria to promote probiotic survival in the gut and/or dampening inflammatory responses.
Funding
Category 3 - Industry and Other Research Income
History
Volume
27Issue
8Start Page
179End Page
182Number of Pages
4ISSN
0956-666XPublisher
Wiley-VCH VerlagPublisher DOI
Language
enPeer Reviewed
- Yes
Open Access
- No
External Author Affiliations
Institute of Food Research, UK; The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited,, Zespri International, NZ;Era Eligible
- No