Effects of prenatal and continued postnatal probiotic treatment on physiological and behavioural outcomes with implications for the stress response

肠道微生物组的组成（细菌和其他栖息在肠道中的微生物）已被证明会影响行为，因此，提出了肠道细菌如何影响大脑以实现这一目标的问题。Lallemand Health Solutions（加拿大蒙特利尔）在生产安全益生菌（例如，** Lacidofil®、Probio'Stick®），对压力相关的肠道和情绪结果具有有益影响。肠道微生物组受到饮食和压力的影响，两者都可能产生跨代影响，这意味着父母的饮食和压力可以规划后代的结果。虽然Lallemand认识到他们的 ** 产品具有这种效果的潜力，但目前他们缺乏内部专业知识，无法使用体内动物 ** 模型来研究这一点，该模型能够解决这种情况如何发生在母亲和后代中的机制。Lallemand需要Perrot实验室中常规使用的专业知识、设施和动物模型来：1）** 调查益生菌补充剂对暴露于 ** 早期生活压力和不健康饮食的后代的大脑和行为的影响;以及2）检查母亲的益生菌补充剂是否影响母亲的 ** 护理行为并为后代提供保护作用（即，减少压力反应，减少炎症，减少焦虑样行为）。两个实验已经完成，以解决 ** 这些问题。初步结果表明，在怀孕和哺乳期间向母鼠补充益生菌可以提高母鼠对幼鼠的照顾质量，而幼鼠在断奶时的体重增加也会略低，即使是在高脂肪饮食中也是如此。需要资金来完成对后代与焦虑有关的行为的评分，以及分析包括大脑和肠道在内的各种组织中与压力和代谢有关的措施。这些结果将为Lallemand提供关键信息，以更有效地销售其益生菌并增加其在特定人群中的市场份额。这也将为达尔豪西大学和Lallemand之间的持续合作奠定基础，以 ** 继续调查益生菌对加拿大人的有益影响。

The composition of the gut microbiome (bacteria and other microorganisms that inhabit the gut) has been**shown to influence behaviour and thus, raises the question of how gut bacteria affect the brain to achieve this.**Lallemand Health Solutions (Montreal, Canada) have made steady progress in producing safe probiotics (e.g.,**Lacidofil®, Probio'Stick®) that have beneficial effects on stress-related gut and mood outcomes. The gut**microbiome is influenced by diet and stress, both of which can have transgenerational effects, meaning that**parental diet and stress can program offspring outcomes. While Lallemand recognizes the potential for their**products to have such effects, presently they lack the in-house expertise to investigate this using in vivo animal**model that are capable of addressing how this occurs with respect to mechanisms in the mom and offspring.**Lallemand requires the expertise, facilities, and animal models that are routinely used in the Perrot lab to: 1)**investigate the impact of probiotic supplementation on both the brain and behaviour of offspring exposed to**early-life stress and unhealthy diet; and 2) examine if probiotic supplementation of mothers influences maternal**care behaviours and provides protective effects to the offspring (i.e., decreased stress responding, a reduction in**inflammation, fewer anxiety-like behaviours) against stress. Two experiments have been completed to address**these questions. Preliminary results show that probiotic supplementation to mother rats during pregnancy and**nursing increases the quality of the care she provides to her young, who in turn show slightly lower weight gain**by weaning, even when exposed to a high-fat diet. Funds are requested to complete the scoring of**anxiety-related behaviour in the offspring as well as analyze stress- and metabolic-related measures in various**tissues including brain and gut. These results will provide critical information for Lallemand to more**effectively market their probiotics and increase their market share among specific segments of the population.**It will also lay the foundation for a continued collaboration between Dalhousie University and Lallemand to**continue investigation of the beneficial effects of probiotics for Canadians.