Study on the regulatory effects and mechanisms of action of bifidobacterial exopolysaccharides on anaphylaxes in mice.

This study used bifidobacterial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) from the selected strains of Bifidobacterium bifidum WBBI01 and WBIN03, Bifidobacterium breve WBBR04, Bifidobacterium infantis WBAN07 and Bifidobacterium longum WBLO01 to explore the EPSs regulatory effect on anaphylaxis in mice. First of all, allergy mouse models were established via subcutaneous injection followed by OVA gavage, and then the EPSs from the five Bifidobacteria were fed into the mice via continuous gavage. Samples were taken from the mice periodically to determine the changes of cytokine levels in serum, including those of IgE, IgG, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and INF-γ. The test revealed that the EPSs from B. breve WBBR04 could considerably relieve food allergy in the mouse models, but the effect of B. infantis WBAN07 was unsatisfactory. Based on the above conclusions, the EPSs of B. bifidum WBBR04 and WBIN03, B. breve WBBR04, and B. longum WBLO01 were respectively incubated with the small intestine tissue sections of an allergic mouse model. The resulting culture supernatants were then tested. Based on the above, it can be concluded that EPS of B. breve WBBR04 can enhance the intestinal barrier integrity by attaching themselves onto the inner walls of the small intestine, hence effectively isolating the allergens and preventing food allergy.

Effect of bifidobacterium breve A-1 on anxiety and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia: A proof-of-concept study.

BACKGROUND: Studies of probiotics have suggested they have a positive effect on anxiety and depressive symptoms in humans. This study investigated the effect of consuming the probiotic Bifidobacterium breve A-1 on anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and explored its effect on immune products such as cytokines and chemokines. METHODS: In this open-label single-arm study, all participants received B. breve strain A-1 (1011 cfu/day) for 4 weeks followed by 4 weeks of observation. The primary outcome was the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) score. Secondary outcomes were anxiety and depressive symptoms on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), blood test findings, and fecal microbiome composition. RESULTS: Twenty-nine outpatients completed the study. HADS total score and PANSS anxiety/depression score were significantly improved at 4 weeks. Based on the criterion of a greater than 25% reduction in HADS total score at 4 weeks from baseline, there were 12 responders and 17 non-responders. Responders were found to have fewer negative symptoms, reduced intake of dairy products, and higher relative abundance of Parabacteroides in the gut microbiome than non-responders. Moreover, IL-22 and TRANCE expression was significantly increased at 4 weeks from baseline in responders but not in non-responders. LIMITATIONS: This open-label, single-arm study cannot exclude a placebo effect. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the potential effect of B. breve A-1 in improving anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Further studies should investigate this effect in patients with other psychiatric conditions and assess dietary habits and the gut microbiome.

Extraction of the same novel homoglycan mixture from two different strains of Bifidobacterium animalis and three strains of Bifidobacterium breve.

Three strains of Bifidobacterium breve (JCM 7017, JCM 7019 and JCM 2258) and two strains of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (AD011 and A1dOxR) were grown in broth cultures or on plates, and a standard exopolysaccharide extraction method was used in an attempt to recover exocellular polysaccharides. When the extracted materials were analysed by NMR it was clear that mixtures of polysaccharides were being isolated including exopolysaccharides (EPS) cell wall polysaccharides and intracellular polysaccharides. Treatment of the cell biomass from the B. breve strains, or the B. animalis subsp. lactis AD011 strain, with aqueous sodium hydroxide provided a very similar mixture of polysaccharides but without the EPS. The different polysaccharides were partially fractionated by selective precipitation from an aqueous solution upon the addition of increasing percentages of ethanol. The polysaccharides extracted from B. breve JCM 7017 grown in HBM media supplemented with glucose (or isotopically labelled D-glucose-1-13C) were characterised using 1D and 2D-NMR spectroscopy. Addition of one volume of ethanol generated a medium molecular weight glycogen (Mw=1×105 Da, yield 200 mg/l). The addition of two volumes of ethanol precipitated an intimate mixture of a low molecular weight ß-(1→6)-glucan and a low molecular weight ß-(1→6)-galactofuranan which could not be separated (combined yield 46 mg/l). When labelled D-glucose-1-13C was used as a carbon supplement, the label was incorporated into >95% of the anomeric carbons of each polysaccharide confirming they were being synthesised in situ. Similar 1H NMR profiles were obtained for polysaccharides recovered from the cells of B. animalis subsp. lactis AD011and A1dOxR (in combination with an EPS), B. breve JCM 7017, B. breve JCM 7019, B. breve JCM 2258 and from an EPS (-ve) mutant of B. breve 7017 (a non-EPS producer).