Role of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 in mice with acute pancreatitis.

2025-04-05
AMB Express 15(1)

PubMed: 40186645
DOI: 10.1186/s13568-025-01867-9

Study Design

Population: mice with AP
Methods: BB-12 administration via gavage; microbiome analysis, transcriptome analysis, and Spearman's correlation analysis

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a prevalent acute gastrointestinal disease, which may be prevented and alleviated by probiotics. Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 (BB-12) is a widely studied probiotic strain; however, its specific effects in this context remain unexplored. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of BB-12 in AP. Our findings revealed that BB-12 administration via gavage significantly reduced pathological pancreatic damage and serum amylase activity. Microbiome analysis showed that BB-12 treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of Ligilactobacillus and decreased that of Bilophila in the gut microbiota of mice with AP. Transcriptome analysis revealed that BB-12 mitigated the AP-induced dysregulation of several pathways, specifically attenuating the upregulation of the pancreatic secretion and ascorbate and aldarate metabolism pathways while reversing the downregulation of the ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation, and thermogenesis pathways. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between the abundances of Bilophila and ASF356 and serum amylase activity. Furthermore, the abundances of Bilophila and ASF356 were significantly correlated with BB-12-regulated pancreatic genes and were predominantly enriched in the ribosome pathway. In conclusion, BB-12 pretreatment alleviated AP, likely by regulating the abundance of intestinal Lactobacillus, Bilophila, and ASF356, as well as the pancreatic secretion, ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, ribosome, and thermogenesis pathways.

Research Insights

Supplement	Dose	Health Outcome	Effect Type	Effect Size	Source
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis	—	Improved Gut Microbiota Composition	Beneficial	Small	View source BB-12 treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of Ligilactobacillus and decreased that of Bilophila in the gut microbiota of mice with AP.
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis	—	Reduced Acute Pancreatitis Severity	Beneficial	Moderate	View source BB-12 administration via gavage significantly reduced pathological pancreatic damage and serum amylase activity.
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis	—	Reduced Pancreatic Stress-Related Pathways	Beneficial	Small	View source BB-12 mitigated the AP-induced dysregulation of several pathways, specifically attenuating the upregulation of the pancreatic secretion and ascorbate and aldarate metabolism pathways while reversing the downregulation of the ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation, and thermogenesis pathways.
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12	—	Improved Gut Microbiota Composition	Beneficial	Small	View source BB-12 treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of Ligilactobacillus and decreased that of Bilophila in the gut microbiota of mice with AP.
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12	—	Reduced Acute Pancreatitis Severity	Beneficial	Moderate	View source BB-12 administration via gavage significantly reduced pathological pancreatic damage and serum amylase activity.
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12	—	Reduced Pancreatic Inflammatory and Metabolic Dysregulation	Beneficial	Small	View source BB-12 mitigated the AP-induced dysregulation of several pathways, specifically attenuating the upregulation of the pancreatic secretion and ascorbate and aldarate metabolism pathways while reversing the downregulation of the ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation, and thermogenesis pathways.