Persistence of the probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) in an in vitro model of the gut microbiome

Authors: Mahalak, Karley; Firrman, Jenni; BOBOKALONOV, JAMSHED - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); Narrowe, Adrienne; BITTINGER, KYLE - The Children'S Hospital Of Philadelphia; DANIEL, SCOTT - The Children'S Hospital Of Philadelphia; TANES, CELYAN - The Children'S Hospital Of Philadelphia; MATTEI, LISA - The Children'S Hospital Of Philadelphia; ZENG, WEI-BIN - University Of Louisville; SOARES, JASON - Us Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Army; KOBORI, MASUKO - Food Research Institute - Japan; Scarino Lemons, Johanna; Tomasula, Peggy; Liu, Linshu

Submitted to: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/19/2022
Publication Date: 10/26/2022
Citation: Mahalak, K.K., Firrman, J., Bobokalonov, J., Narrowe, A.B., Bittinger, K., Daniel, S., Tanes, C., Mattei, L., Zeng, W., Soares, J.W., Kobori, M., Scarino Lemons, J.M., Tomasula, M.M., Liu, L.S. 2022. Persistence of the probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) in an in vitro model of the gut microbiome. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232112973.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232112973

Interpretive Summary: Probiotics are now on the shelves of most retail stores because researchers have linked them to positive health benefits. However, there is some concern about whether probiotics can cause lasting, positive change in a stable gut microbiome. We tested this by culturing three stable gut microbial communities from different individuals and monitoring the impact of the probiotic LGG. We observed that LGG was able to persist in parts of the communities for at least 10 days and had small, but positive impacts on the health of the community as a whole.

Technical Abstract: The consumption of probiotics is widely encouraged due to reports of their positive effects on human health, but the ability of these species to alter the structure of an existing gut microbiome has not been fully explored. Although the gastrointestinal tract is a continuous channel from mouth to anus, the environment varies widely along its length resulting in the establishment of region-specific microbial communities. This study aimed to investigate the survival and growth of the probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) once introduced into established microbial communities cultivated from three different donors using an in vitro model of the colon. LGG was inoculated into the simulated ascending colon and its persistence in, and transit through the subsequent transverse and descending colon regions was monitored over two weeks. The impact of the probiotic on the diversity of the existing bacterial communities was investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing. LGG was able to engraft and proliferate in the ascending region for at least 10 days but was diminished in the transverse and descending colon regions with only transient effects on the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratios. This data suggests that the health benefits of the probiotic LGG rely on its ability to transiently engraft and modulate the host microbial community.