Gut-Associated Lymphatic Tissue in Food-Restricted Rats: Influence of Refeeding and Probiotic Supplementation

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) 2023-05, Vol.11 (6), p.1411
• Main Authors: Trinh, Stefanie, Käver, Larissa, Schlösser, Anna, Simon, Anna, Kogel, Vanessa, Voelz, Clara, Beyer, Cordian, Seitz, Jochen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: activity-based anorexia; Anorexia; Anorexia nervosa; Anxiety; Appetite; Bacteria; Body weight; Brain; Brain research; Chronic illnesses; chronic starvation; Diet therapy; Dietary restrictions; Dietary supplements; Digestive system; Eating disorders; Evaluation; Food; Gastrointestinal tract; gut microbiome; gut permeability; gut-associated lymphoid tissue; Gut-associated lymphoid tissues; Health aspects; Immune system; Inflammation; Inflammatory bowel disease; Intestinal microflora; ISO standards; Laboratory animals; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Microorganisms; Morphology; Permeability; Physiological aspects; Probiotics; Small intestine; Starvation
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11061411

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe and often chronic eating disorder that leads to alterations in the gut microbiome, which is known to influence several processes, such as appetite and body weight regulation, metabolism, gut permeability, inflammation, and gut-brain interactions. Using a translational activity-based anorexia (ABA) rat model, this study examined the effect of chronic food starvation, as well as multistrain probiotic supplementation and refeeding, on the structure of the gut and gut-associated lymphatic tissue (GALT). Our results indicated that ABA had an atrophic influence on intestinal morphology and increased the formation of GALT in the small bowel and colon. Higher formation of GALT in ABA rats appeared to be reversible upon application of a multistrain probiotic mixture and refeeding of the starved animals. This is the first time that increased GALT was found following starvation in the ABA model. Our results underscore a potential role of gut inflammatory alterations in the underlying pathophysiology of AN. Increased GALT could be linked to the gut microbiome, as probiotics were able to reverse this finding. These results emphasize the role of the microbiome-gut-brain axis in the pathomechanisms of AN and point to probiotics as potentially beneficial addendum in the treatment of AN.