Bifidobacterium longum counters the effects of obesity: Partial successful translation from rodent to human

Harriët Schellekens,#£,a,b,⁎ Cristina Torres-Fuentes,#,a Marcel van de Wouw,#,a Caitriona M. Long-Smith,a Avery Mitchell,c Conall Strain,c Kirsten Berding,a Thomaz F.S. Bastiaanssen,a,b Kieran Rea,a Anna V. Golubeva,a,b Silvia Arboleya,a,c Mathieu Verpaalen,a,b Matteo M. Pusceddu,a Amy Murphy,a,c Fiona Fouhy,a,c Kiera Murphy,a,c Paul Ross,a,d Bernard L. Roy,e Catherine Stanton,a,c Timothy G. Dinan,a,f and John F. Cryan£,a,b

 

Abstract

Background

The human gut microbiota has emerged as a key factor in the development of obesity. Certain probiotic strains have shown anti-obesity effects. The objective of this study was to investigate whether Bifidobacterium longum APC1472 has anti-obesity effects in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice and whether B. longum APC1472 supplementation reduces body-mass index (BMI) in healthy overweight/obese individuals as the primary outcome. B. longum APC1472 effects on waist-to-hip ratio (W/H ratio) and on obesity-associated plasma biomarkers were analysed as secondary outcomes.

Methods

  1. longumAPC1472 was administered to HFD-fed C57BL/6 mice in drinking water for 16 weeks. In the human intervention trial, participants received B. longumAPC1472 or placebo supplementation for 12 weeks, during which primary and secondary outcomes were measured at the beginning and end of the intervention.

Findings

  1. longumAPC1472 supplementation was associated with decreased bodyweight, fat depots accumulation and increased glucose tolerance in HFD-fed mice. While, in healthy overweight/obese adults, the supplementation of B. longumAPC1472 strain did not change primary outcomes of BMI (0.03, 95% CI [-0.4, 0.3]) or W/H ratio (0.003, 95% CI [-0.01, 0.01]), a positive effect on the secondary outcome of fasting blood glucose levels was found (-0.299, 95% CI [-0.44, -0.09]).

Interpretation

This study shows a positive translational effect of B. longum APC1472 on fasting blood glucose from a preclinical mouse model of obesity to a human intervention study in otherwise healthy overweight and obese individuals. This highlights the promising potential of B. longum APC1472 to be developed as a valuable supplement in reducing specific markers of obesity.