Bifidobacterium longum counters the effects of obesity: Partial successful translation from rodent to human

Harriët Schellekens; Cristina Torres-Fuentes; Marcel van de Wouw; Caitriona M Long-Smith; Avery Mitchell; Conall Strain; Kirsten Berding; Thomaz F S Bastiaanssen; Kieran Rea; Anna V Golubeva; Silvia Arboleya; Mathieu Verpaalen; Matteo M Pusceddu; Amy Murphy; Fiona Fouhy; Kiera Murphy; Paul Ross; Bernard L Roy; Catherine Stanton; Timothy G Dinan; John F Cryan

doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.103176

Bifidobacterium longum counters the effects of obesity: Partial successful translation from rodent to human

EBioMedicine. 2021 Jan:63:103176. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.103176. Epub 2020 Dec 18.

Authors

Harriët Schellekens¹, Cristina Torres-Fuentes², Marcel van de Wouw², Caitriona M Long-Smith², Avery Mitchell³, Conall Strain³, Kirsten Berding², Thomaz F S Bastiaanssen⁴, Kieran Rea², Anna V Golubeva⁴, Silvia Arboleya⁵, Mathieu Verpaalen⁴, Matteo M Pusceddu², Amy Murphy⁵, Fiona Fouhy⁵, Kiera Murphy⁵, Paul Ross⁶, Bernard L Roy⁷, Catherine Stanton⁵, Timothy G Dinan⁸, John F Cryan⁴

Affiliations

¹ APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. Electronic address: H.Schellekens@ucc.ie.
² APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
³ Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Cork, Ireland.
⁴ APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
⁵ APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Cork, Ireland.
⁶ APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; College of Science Engineering & Food Science, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
⁷ Cremo SA, Villars-sur-Glâne, Fribourg, Switzerland.
⁸ APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Dept of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.

Abstract

Background: The human gut microbiota has emerged as a key factor in the development of obesity. Certain probiotic strains have shown anti-obesity effects. The objective of this study was to investigate whether Bifidobacterium longum APC1472 has anti-obesity effects in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice and whether B. longum APC1472 supplementation reduces body-mass index (BMI) in healthy overweight/obese individuals as the primary outcome. B. longum APC1472 effects on waist-to-hip ratio (W/H ratio) and on obesity-associated plasma biomarkers were analysed as secondary outcomes.

Methods: B. longum APC1472 was administered to HFD-fed C57BL/6 mice in drinking water for 16 weeks. In the human intervention trial, participants received B. longum APC1472 or placebo supplementation for 12 weeks, during which primary and secondary outcomes were measured at the beginning and end of the intervention.

Findings: B. longum APC1472 supplementation was associated with decreased bodyweight, fat depots accumulation and increased glucose tolerance in HFD-fed mice. While, in healthy overweight/obese adults, the supplementation of B. longum APC1472 strain did not change primary outcomes of BMI (0.03, 95% CI [-0.4, 0.3]) or W/H ratio (0.003, 95% CI [-0.01, 0.01]), a positive effect on the secondary outcome of fasting blood glucose levels was found (-0.299, 95% CI [-0.44, -0.09]).

Interpretation: This study shows a positive translational effect of B. longum APC1472 on fasting blood glucose from a preclinical mouse model of obesity to a human intervention study in otherwise healthy overweight and obese individuals. This highlights the promising potential of B. longum APC1472 to be developed as a valuable supplement in reducing specific markers of obesity.

Funding: This research was funded in part by Science Foundation Ireland in the form of a Research Centre grant (SFI/12/RC/2273) to APC Microbiome Ireland and by a research grant from Cremo S.A.

Keywords: Bifidobacterium longum; Cortisol; Fasting blood glucose; Ghrelin; Gut microbiota; Obesity; Probiotic; Translational.

MeSH terms

Adiposity
Adrenal Cortex Hormones / blood
Animals
Bifidobacterium longum / physiology*
Biomarkers
Body Weight
Diet, High-Fat / adverse effects
Dietary Supplements
Disease Models, Animal
Disease Resistance*
Energy Metabolism
Glucose / metabolism
Host Microbial Interactions*
Leptin / blood
Male
Mice
Neuropeptides / genetics
Neuropeptides / metabolism
Obesity / etiology
Obesity / metabolism*
Probiotics
Rodentia
Translational Research, Biomedical

Substances

Adrenal Cortex Hormones
Biomarkers
Leptin
Neuropeptides
Glucose