Gut Microbiota Richness and Composition and Dietary Intake of Overweight Pregnant Women Are Related to Serum Zonulin Concentration, a Marker for Intestinal Permeability.

BACKGROUND: Increased intestinal permeability may precede adverse metabolic conditions. The extent to which the composition of the gut microbiota and diet contribute to intestinal permeability during pregnancy is unknown. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate whether the gut microbiota and diet differ according to serum zonulin concentration, a marker of intestinal permeability, in overweight pregnant women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 100 overweight women [mean age: 29 y; median body mass index (in kg/m(2)): 30] in early pregnancy (<17 wk of gestation; median: 13 wk). Serum zonulin (primary outcome) was determined by using ELISA, gut microbiota by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing, and dietary intake of macro- and micronutrients from 3-d food diaries. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for pairwise comparisons and linear regression and Spearman's nonparametric correlations for relations between serum zonulin and other outcome variables. RESULTS: Women were divided into "low" (<46.4 ng/mL) and "high" (≥46.4 ng/mL) serum zonulin groups on the basis of the median concentration of zonulin (46.4 ng/mL). The richness of the gut microbiota (Chao 1, observed species and phylogenetic diversity) was higher in the low zonulin group than in the high zonulin group (P = 0.01). The abundances of Bacteroidaceae and Veillonellaceae, Bacteroides and Blautia, and Blautia sp. were lower and of Faecalibacterium and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii higher (P < 0.05) in the low zonulin group than in the high zonulin group. Dietary quantitative intakes of n-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), fiber, and a range of vitamins and minerals were higher (P < 0.05) in women in the low zonulin group than those in the high zonulin group. CONCLUSIONS: The richness and composition of the gut microbiota and the intake of n-3 PUFAs, fiber, and a range of vitamins and minerals in overweight pregnant women are associated with serum zonulin concentration. Modification of the gut microbiota and diet may beneficially affect intestinal permeability, leading to improved metabolic health of both the mother and fetus. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01922791.

Bifidobacterium lactis 420 and fish oil enhance intestinal epithelial integrity in Caco-2 cells.

Increased intestinal permeability is a predisposing factor for low-grade inflammation-associated conditions, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Dietary components may influence intestinal barrier integrity. We hypothesized that the dietary supplements Bifidobacterium lactis 420, Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001, and fish oil have beneficial impacts on intestinal barrier integrity. In addition, we hypothesized that the coadministration of these components results in synergistic benefits to the integrity of the intestinal barrier. To study this, we investigated the impact of cell-free culture supernatant from dietary supplements B lactis 420 and L rhamnosus HN001, and fish oil, separately and in combination, on intestinal permeability in a CaCo-2 cell model. Administered separately, both B lactis 420 supernatant and fish oil significantly increased the integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier, as determined by an increase in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), whereas L rhamnosus did not. The TEER increase with B lactis 420 was dose dependent. Interestingly, a combination of B lactis 420 supernatant and fish oil negated the increase in TEER of the single components. mRNA expression of tight junction proteins, measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, was not altered, but the mRNA expression of myosin light chain kinase increased after fish oil treatment. To conclude, single dietary components, namely, B lactis 420 and fish oil, induced beneficial effects on intestinal barrier integrity in vitro, whereas a combination of 2 beneficial test compounds resulted in a null effect.

Expression and characterization of an endo-1,4-ß-galactanase from Emericella nidulans in Pichia pastoris for enzymatic design of potentially prebiotic oligosaccharides from potato galactans.

Potato pulp is a high-volume side-stream from industrial potato starch manufacturing. Enzymatically solubilized ß-1,4-galactan-rich potato pulp polysaccharides of molecular weights >100 kDa (SPPP) are highly bifidogenic in human fecal sample fermentations in vitro. The objective of the present study was to use potato ß-1,4-galactan and the SPPP as substrates for enzymatic production of potentially prebiotic compounds of lower and narrower molecular weight. A novel endo-1,4-ß-galactanase from Emericella nidulans (anamorph Aspergillus nidulans), GH family 53, was produced in a recombinant Pichia pastoris strain. The enzyme was purified by Cu(2+) affinity chromatography and its optimal reaction conditions were determined to pH 5 and 49°C via a statistical experimental design. The specific activity of the E. nidulans enzyme expressed in P. pastoris was similar to that of an endo-1,4-ß-galactanase from Aspergillus niger used as benchmark. The E. nidulans enzyme expressed in P. pastoris generated a spectrum poly- and oligo-saccharides which were fractionated by membrane filtration. The potential growth promoting properties of each fraction were evaluated by growth of beneficial gut microbes and pathogenic bacteria. All the galactan- and SPPP-derived products promoted the growth of probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus acidophilus and generally did not support the propagation of Clostridium perfringens in single culture fermentations. Notably the growth of B. longum was significantly higher (p<0.05) or at least as good on galactan- and SPPP-derived products as fructooligosaccharides (FOS). Except in one case these products did not support the growth of the pathogen Cl. perfringens to any significant extent.