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Lactococcus lactis expressing food-grade β-galactosidase alleviates lactose intolerance symptoms in post-weaning Balb/c mice

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Abstract

The endogenous β-galactosidase expressed in intestinal microbes is demonstrated to help humans in lactose usage, and treatment associated with the promotion of beneficial microorganism in the gut is correlated with lactose tolerance. From this point, a kind of recombinant live β-galactosidase delivery system using food-grade protein expression techniques and selected probiotics as vehicle was promoted by us for the purpose of application in lactose intolerance subjects. Previously, a recombinant Lactococcus lactis MG1363 strain expressing food-grade β-galactosidase, the L. lactis MG1363/FGZW, was successfully constructed and evaluated in vitro. This study was conducted to in vivo evaluate its efficacy on alleviating lactose intolerance symptoms in post-weaning Balb/c mice, which were orally administered with 1 × 106 CFU or 1 × 108 CFU of L. lactis MG1363/FGZW daily for 4 weeks before lactose challenge. In comparison with naïve mice, the mice administered with L. lactis MG1363/FGZW showed significant alleviation of diarrhea symptoms in less total feces weight within 6 h post-challenge and suppressed intestinal motility after lactose challenge, although there was no significant increase of β-galactosidase activity in small intestine. The alleviation also correlated with higher species abundance, more Bifidobacterium colonization, and stronger colonization resistance in mice intestinal microflora. Therefore, this recombinant L. lactis strain effectively alleviated diarrhea symptom induced by lactose uptake in lactose intolerance model mice with the probable mechanism of promotion of lactic acid bacteria to differentiate and predominantly colonize in gut microbial community, thus making it a promising probiotic for lactose intolerance subjects.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by funds from the National Science Foundation of China (grant no. 30800910).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Technology, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, #16, Section 3, Ren Min Nan Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China

    Jingjie Li, Chuan Wang, Qian Yu, Ruirui Dai & Xiaofang Pei

  2. Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, #16, Section 3, Ren Min Nan Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China

    Wen Zhang

  3. Department of Occupational Disease, Central Hospital of Sichuan Petroleum Bureau, #26, Tongji Lane, HuaYang, Chengdu, 610213, Sichuan, China

    Wen Zhang

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  1. Jingjie Li
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  2. Wen Zhang
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  3. Chuan Wang
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  4. Qian Yu
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  5. Ruirui Dai
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  6. Xiaofang Pei
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Correspondence to Chuan Wang or Qian Yu.

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Jingjie Li and Wen Zhang contributed equally to this work.

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Li, J., Zhang, W., Wang, C. et al. Lactococcus lactis expressing food-grade β-galactosidase alleviates lactose intolerance symptoms in post-weaning Balb/c mice. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 96, 1499–1506 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-3977-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-3977-4

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