Effects of Lactobacillus Reuteri Supplementation on Serum Cholesterol and Cardiac Damage

Abstract

Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota has been implicated in the progression and severity of a number of disorders, including cardiovascular disease. Probiotics offer a means to positively manipulate the gut microbiota and can improve cardiovascular risk factors, like hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Research investigating the effects of probiotic supplementation in the context of cardiac injury is limited. Furthermore, the mechanism by which probiotics impart benefits and where these benefits are incurred in the GI tract is not well elucidated. The aims of this thesis were to investigate the effects of probiotic supplementation in the context of cardiac injury and better understand probiotic localization following administration. In the first study, LDLr KO and wild-type mice were administered Lactobacillus reuteri for 5-6 weeks before initiation of an ischemia/reperfusion protocol. In the second study, transit and localization of the probiotic, Bifidobacterium animalis subspecies lactis 420 (B420), were monitored in the GI tract following single and consecutive administrations. Results of the first study show that supplementation with L. reuteri significantly attenuates cardiac damage following myocardial infarction. The second study found that B420 presence in the GI tract was lost rapidly following cessation of treatment. Together, these results show that probiotic supplementation may offer an alternative therapy for improving cardiac health and that continuous treatment is necessary for probiotics to impart their beneficial effects.