Flavanol-Rich Cocoa Powder Interacts with Lactobacillus rhamnossus LGG to Alter the Antibody Response to Infection with the Parasitic Nematode Ascaris suum

Nutrients. 2017 Oct 12;9(10):1113. doi: 10.3390/nu9101113.

Abstract

Consumption of the probiotic bacteria LactobacillusrhamnosusLGG and flavanol-rich cocoa have purported immune modulating effects. This study compared the host response to infection with Ascaris suum in three-month-old pigs fed a standard growth diet supplemented with a vehicle control: LGG, cocoa powder (CP) or LGG + CP. Pigs were inoculated with infective A. suum eggs during Week 5 of dietary treatment and euthanized 17 days later. Lactobacillus abundance was increased in pigs fed LGG or LGG + CP. Specific anti-A. suum IgG2 antibodies were decreased (p < 0.05) in LGG + CP-fed pigs compared to pigs fed CP alone. Pigs fed LGG had significantly reduced expression (p < 0.05) of Eosinophil peroxidase (EPX), Interleukin 13 (IL-13), Eotaxin 3 (CCL26), Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), TLR4, and TLR9 and Interleukin-1Beta (IL1B) in the tracheal-bronchial lymph node (TBLN) independent of CP treatment. These results suggested that feeding LGG significantly reduced the localized prototypical Th2-related markers of infection with A. suum in the TBLN. Although feeding CP does not appear to affect the A. suum-induced Th2-associated cytokine response, feeding LGG + CP reduced anti-A. suum antibodies and delayed intestinal expulsion of parasitic larvae from the intestine.

Keywords: LGG; cocoa flavanols; gut microbiota; porcine model; toll-like receptors; type-2 immune response.

MeSH terms

  • Animal Feed
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Helminth / blood*
  • Antinematodal Agents / isolation & purification
  • Antinematodal Agents / pharmacology*
  • Ascariasis / immunology
  • Ascariasis / microbiology
  • Ascariasis / parasitology
  • Ascariasis / prevention & control*
  • Ascaris suum / immunology*
  • Cacao* / chemistry
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Chocolate*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Feces / parasitology
  • Flavonols / isolation & purification
  • Flavonols / pharmacology*
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Intestines / drug effects*
  • Intestines / immunology
  • Intestines / microbiology
  • Intestines / parasitology
  • Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus / physiology*
  • Lymph Nodes / drug effects
  • Lymph Nodes / immunology
  • Lymph Nodes / microbiology
  • Lymph Nodes / parasitology
  • Macrophages, Alveolar / drug effects
  • Macrophages, Alveolar / immunology
  • Macrophages, Alveolar / microbiology
  • Macrophages, Alveolar / parasitology
  • Parasite Egg Count
  • Probiotics*
  • Sus scrofa
  • Th2 Cells / drug effects*
  • Th2 Cells / immunology
  • Th2 Cells / microbiology
  • Th2 Cells / parasitology
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Antibodies, Helminth
  • Antinematodal Agents
  • Flavonols