Lactobacillus plantarum, a commensal bacterium of humans, has been proposed to enhance the intestinal barrier, which is compromised in a number of intestinal disorders.
L. plantarum, given to piglets in early life, improved performance and effectively prevented the diarrhea in young piglets induced by ETEC K88 challenge by improving function of the intestinal barrier by protecting intestinal morphology and intestinal permeability and the expression of genes for tight junction proteins (zonula occludens-1 and occludin).
L. plantarum 299v administration significantly increased the mRNA expression of jejunal occludin and ileal zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1). The L. plantarum treatment also increased the mRNA abundance of porcine β-defensin 2 (pBD2) and pBD3 in the jejunum and ileum and of toll-like receptors (TLRs), such as TLR2, TLR4, TLR6 and TLR9 in the ileum, and significantly upregulated the mRNA abundances of ileal pBD1 and colonic TLR4.
The results revealed that both Lac16 and BSC10 maintained ileal mucosal morphology, and BSC10 regulated the expression of barrier function-related genes.