A Palmitoylethanolamide Producing Lactobacillus paracasei Improves Clostridium difficile Toxin A-Induced Colitis
Laboratory studyOther animals
- Design
- Laboratory study
- Subjects
- Mice given Clostridium difficile toxin A (TcdA) to induce colitis, pre-treated with a genetically engineered PEA-producing Lactobacillus paracasei (pNAPE-LP) or a control strain (pLP), plus PPAR-alpha knockout mice
- Dose used in the study
- pNAPE-LP probiotic given intragastrically for 7 days before colitis induction
- Duration
- 7 days pre-treatment before toxin challenge
- What was measured
- PEA production by the engineered probiotic in vitro; colitis histological damage score, macrophage count and myeloperoxidase; markers of inflammation (TLR4, p-p38, HIF-1alpha, NF-kB subunits p50/p65, IL-6, nitric oxide, VEGF); and tight junction proteins (ZO-1, RhoA-GTP, occludin)
What the authors reported
This laboratory study found:
- pNAPE-LP raised PEA production 27,900% in vitro.
- In mice, it improved colitis: histological damage score, macrophage count and myeloperoxidase fell by 53%, 82% and 70.4%.
- TLR4 fell 71%, p-p38 72%, HIF-1alpha 53%, p50 74%, p65 60%, IL-6 86%, nitric oxide 59% and VEGF 71%.
- ZO-1, RhoA-GTP and occludin rose 304%, 649% and 160%.
- Effects were absent in PPAR-alpha knockout mice and with the control strain.
Limits of this study
A mouse-model study; it cannot show effect in people. Three authors are affiliated with Nextbiomics s.r.l., Naples; the remaining authors declare no conflicts.
Source
PubMed 33986673 · doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.639728
Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed on 2026-09-22. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.