The effect of dietary Agaricus bisporus mushroom on intestinal microbiota composition and host immunological function

Authors: Solano-Aguilar, Gloria; Jang, Saebyeol; Lakshman, Sukla; GUPTA, RICHI - George Mason University; Beshah, Ethiopia; SIKAROODI, MASOUMEH - George Mason University; Vinyard, Bryan; Molokin, Aleksey; GILLEVET, PATRICK - George Mason University; Urban, Joseph

Submitted to: Nutrients
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/2/2018
Publication Date: 11/9/2018
Citation: Solano Aguilar, G., Jang, S., Lakshman, S., Gupta, R., Beshah, E., Sikaroodi, M., Vinyard, B.T., Molokin, A., Gillevet, P., Urban Jr, J.F. 2018. The effect of dietary Agaricus bisporus mushroom on intestinal microbiota composition and host immunological function. Nutrients. 10(11):1721. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10111721.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10111721

Interpretive Summary: Edible mushrooms have purported health benefits when added to the diet. A study was designed to feed pigs mushrooms and evaluate an immune response, and the composition and function of intestinal bacteria. Thirty-one six-week-old pigs were fed a pig grower diet alone or supplemented with either 3 or 6 servings of freeze-dried white button-mushroom for six weeks. Host blood cells and protective inflammatory cells from the lungs were isolated and incubated in cultures and stimulated with bacterial products (LPS). Samples from the feces and proximal colon contents were collected and processed for bacterial DNA. A computer-based analysis (LEfSe) was used to determine relative differences in bacterial populations and their metabolic function. Pigs gained weight with no difference in body composition, or intestinal permeability. Pigs consuming mushrooms showed no negative growth effects but had improved immune function based on the cellular responses to LPS. LEfSe analysis indicated increases in bacteria with improved metabolism of carbohydrates and secondary metabolites. These results suggested that feeding dietary mushroom significantly reduced the inflammatory response after LPS stimulation in macrophages and positively modulated the composition of host bacterial populations in the intestines. The pigs were given an infection with a parasitic worm to evaluate how they would respond to an infection after feeding mushrooms. The results also show improved health function and will be reported as a separate publication.

Technical Abstract: Edible mushrooms have purported prebiotic effects. A study was designed to determine the effect of feeding mushrooms on the host immune response, and intestinal microbiota composition and function. Thirty-one six-week-old pigs were fed a pig grower diet alone or supplemented with either 3 or 6 servings of freeze-dried white button (WB)-mushroom for six weeks. Host immune response was evaluated in Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), and alveolar macrophages (AM) after stimulation with LPS. Fecal and proximal colon contents was used for 16S rDNA taxonomic analysis, and Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) to determine bacterial metabolic function. Pigs gained weight with no difference in body composition, or intestinal permeability. Feeding mushroom reduced LPS-induced IL-1ß gene expression in AM (P<0.05) with no change in LPS-stimulated PBMC or intestinal transcriptome. LEfSe indicated increases in Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae within the order Clostridiales with a shift in bacterial carbohydrate metabolism and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in the mushroom-fed pigs. These results suggested that feeding mushroom significantly reduced the LPS-induced inflammatory response in AM and positively modulated the host microbiota metabolism by increasing the abundance of Clostridiales taxa associated with improved intestinal health. A parasite challenge model has been developed to test the effect of feeding mushrooms during an infection.