Potential probiotic strains isolated from human breast milk: are they able to modulate the intestinal microbiota of obese children?

Abstract

Human milk is a rich source of microorganisms for the developing infant gut. Considering the importance of early gut colonization and later infant health, breastmilk microbiota is extremely important. Isolating new potential probiotics (Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) from breast milk is attractive as several microbes transferred from the mother to infant derive from breast milk. Several factors have to be simultaneously considered for the selection of new probiotic strains, such as their safety, functionality and technological aptitudes. At the INLAIN (and in the framework of the PICT project 2016-0256), fourteen lactobacilli were isolated from human breast milk and characterized from a technological point of view. The activities planned in this project will increase the knowledge about the functionality of the strains by studying their anti-inflammatory capacity, their ability to limit lipid accumulation in adipocytes, to improve the gut barrier and to modulate the intestinal microbiota of obese children using a simulator of the human gut. The gut microbiota is emerging as a new factor in the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. In this sense, prevention and management of obesity are proposed to begin in childhood and the role of prebiotics and probiotics has been studied with promising results by the modulation of gut bacteria and their metabolites such Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) and ammonium ions. Dynamic colonic models have been used to study potential beneficial effects of pro- and prebiotics in the intestinal microbiota. In vitro models, such as SHIME®, faithfully simulates the human gastrointestinal tract, allowing the investigation of both the intestinal microbial composition and its respective metabolite production and functionalities. In this context, this project aims at evaluating the effects of two potential probiotics strains isolated from human breast milk on the microbiota of obese children using the SHIME. (AU)