Explore the vast range of titles available.

We previously reported that a decrease in butyrate-producing bacteria in the gut is a potential cause of regulatory T cell (Treg) abnormalities in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS). Therefore, we hypothesized that administration of butyrate-producing bacteria might reduce INS relapse and the need for immunosuppressants in these patients. Twenty patients in remission from INS (median age 5.3 years, 15 boys) were enrolled in the study and assigned to receive either daily oral treatment with a preparation of 3 g Clostridium butyricum or no probiotic treatment. The number of relapses and requirement for immunosuppressive agents were compared between the two groups. In the probiotic treatment group, analyses of the gut microbiota and Treg measurements were also performed. Probiotic-treated patients experienced fewer INS relapses per year compared with non-probiotic-treated patients (p = 0.016). Further, administration of rituximab in the probiotic treatment group was significantly less frequent compared with the non-probiotic-treated group (p = 0.025). In the probiotic treatment group, analyses before and after probiotic treatment revealed the significant increases in the relative abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria (p = 0.017) and blood Treg counts (p = 0.0065). Thus, oral administration of butyrate-producing bacteria during INS remission may reduce the frequency of relapse and the need for immunosuppressive agents.

Background Plants are increasingly considered as secondary reservoirs for enterics. However, little is known about their population dynamics and the genetic mechanisms during plant colonization. Clostridium butyricum is a gut symbiont of humans and animals and, rarely, a pathogen. Here, 55 strains of C . butyricum isolated from the roots of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis provided a new model for understanding plant-host adaptation of enterics. Results These strains, along with 67 non-endophytic C . butyricum strains (nECB), were examined for population structure, revealing that they diverged into four well-defined lineages, whereas endophytic C . butyricum strains (ECB) from different sources were scattered across two lineages. The population diversity estimate confirmed the genetic distinctiveness among four lineages and uncovered distinct evolutionary processes that might drive the divergence of ECB-related lineages. Frequent gene flow between ECB and nECB suggested that plant-host colonization does not lead to genetic isolation. Extensive recombinations within and between lineages demonstrated the major role of recombination in shaping population genetic structure and diversification in C. butyricum . Additionally, the endophytic variance analysis identified several genes associated with CRISPR, defense systems, and metabolism that contribute to endophytic colonization by C. butyricum . Conclusion This study provides novel insights into the ongoing adaptation of C. butyricum to plant hosts and illuminates the genetic mechanisms underlying this host transition. By elucidating population structure, gene flow, recombination patterns, and candidate adaptive genes, our findings advance the understanding of host-associated evolution in enteric bacteria.

Clostridium butyricum is a key anaerobic probiotic due to its ability to produce butyric acid and form spores. In this study, four strains were isolated from pig feces using tryptose sulfite cycloserine (TSC) plates and specific primers sequentially. The optimal strain, C. butyricum HADIG-CB003, identified via gas chromatography and enzyme tests, produced 1.54 g/L of butyric acid, with cellulase and amylase activities of 20.88 ± 1.27 U/mL and 16.04 ± 0.46 U/mL, respectively. In reinforced clostridial medium, it produced 2.48 L of gas per liter, with hydrogen making up 59.68% (1.48 L). The adhesion rate to porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-J2) was 9.16% in vitro. Twelve 3-week-old male Kunming mice were split into two groups and fed a basal diet with or without 1 × 10 10 CFU (colony-forming unit)/kg HADIG-CB003 for 2 weeks. The HADIG-CB003 diet did not significantly affect body weight or the feed-to-gain ratio but reduced harmful bacteria like Salmonella enterica and increased beneficial gut bacteria, elevating the Firmicutes / Bacteroidetes ratio ( p  < 0.05). Moreover, the HADIG-CB003 diet significantly increased fecal butyric acid levels and decreased microbial species richness (Chao1 index) in the cecal contents of the mice. The study shows that a TSC double-layer plate, PCR screening, and 16S rRNA sequencing effectively screen C. butyricum in pig feces. Additionally, adding HADIG-CB003 to Kunming mice diets significantly changed their gut microbiota in 2 weeks. Key points • This study presents an affordable and straightforward method for screening and fermenting C. butyricum that does not require anaerobic culture equipment. • This study suggests that C. butyricum HADIG-CB003 possesses the potential to enhance the intestinal health of host organisms.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder in gastrointestinal system and impairs the quality of life of the patients. Clostridium butyricum ( CB ) is a probiotics that has been used in several gastrointestinal diseases. The efficacy of CB in treating IBS is still unknown. This prospective, multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of CB in treating diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) and analyze the fecal microbiota after treatment. Two hundred patients with IBS-D were recruited and were given CB or placebo for 4 weeks. End points included change from baseline in IBS symptoms, quality of life, stool consistency and frequency. Compared with placebo, CB is effective in improving the overall IBS-D symptoms (−62.12 ± 74.00 vs. −40.74 ± 63.67, P  = 0.038) as well as quality of life (7.232 ± 14.06 vs. 3.159 ± 11.73, P  = 0.032) and stool frequency (−1.602 ± 1.416 vs. −1.086 ± 1.644, P  = 0.035). The responder rates are found higher in CB compared with the placebo (44.76% vs. 30.53%, P  = 0.042). The change in fecal microbiota was analyzed and function pathways of CB in treating IBS-D were predicted. In conclusion, CB improves overall symptoms, quality of life and stool frequency in IBS-D patients and is considered to be used as a probiotics in treating IBS-D clinically.

Clostridium butyricum (CB) can enhance antioxidant capacity and alleviate oxidative damage, but the molecular mechanism by which this occurs remains unclear. This study used enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88 as a pathogenic model, and the p62-Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway and intestinal microbiota as the starting point to explore the mechanism through which CB alleviates oxidative damage. After pretreatment with CB for 15 d, mice were challenged with ETEC K88 for 24 h. The results suggest that CB pretreatment can dramatically reduce crypt depth (CD) and significantly increase villus height (VH) and VH/CD in the jejunum of ETEC K88-infected mice and relieve morphological lesions of the liver and jejunum. Additionally, compared with ETEC-infected group, pretreatment with 4.4×10 6 CFU/mL CB can significantly reduce malondialdehyde (MDA) level and dramatically increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels in the serum. This pretreatment can also greatly increase the mRNA expression levels of tight junction proteins and genes related to the p62-Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway in the liver and jejunum in ETEC K88-infected mice. Meanwhile, 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing revealed that Clostridium disporicum was significantly enriched after ETEC K88 challenge relative to the control group, while Lactobacillus was significantly enriched after 4.4×10 6 CFU/mL CB treatment. Furthermore, 4.4×10 6 CFU/mL CB pretreatment increased the short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) contents in the cecum of ETEC K88-infected mice. Moreover, we found that Lachnoclostridium , Roseburia , Lactobacillus , Terrisporobacter , Akkermansia , and Bacteroides are closely related to SCFA contents and oxidative indicators. Taken together, 4.4×10 6 CFU/mL CB pretreatment can alleviate ETEC K88-induced oxidative damage through activating the p62-Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway and remodeling the cecal microbiota community in mice.

Probiotics have been suggested to promote growth and immune performance in animals through long-term feeding. Among probiotics, Clostridium butyricum ( C. butyricum ) has been shown to have varying effects on the growth of ruminants. However, the impact of rumen-protected C. butyricum on ruminant organisms remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of rumen-protected and rumen-unprotected C. butyricum on the growth and plasma metabolites of fattening goats after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. A total of 24 fattening goats, aged 7–8 months, were randomly assigned to one of the following treatments: (1) control (CON); (2) unprotected C. butyricum (CB); and (3) rumen-protected C. butyricum (RPCB). After a 10-week feeding experiment (including two weeks of preparatory experiments), the goats were injected subcutaneously with LPS (1 μg/kg BW). The three treatments did not significantly affect growth performance, digestibility, or antioxidant enzyme activity ( P  > 0.05). However, the RPCB group showed a greater ability to reduce propionic acid (35.8%) in the rumen ( P  < 0.01) than did the CB group, thus alleviating the decrease in rumen pH (CB = 5.93, RPCB = 6.13, P  < 0.01). Furthermore, the β-oxidation products in the plasma increased in both the CB and RPCB groups (P < 0.01). The difference in the fecal flora between the CB and RPCB groups was limited, but the content of harmful bacteria in the feces of the other two groups decreased compared with that in the CON group ( P  < 0.01). Unprotected C. butyricum increased the concentration of IgM after LPS injection ( P  < 0.01). 8-Amino-7-oxononanoate (KAPA) can serve as a biomarker for the effect of C. butyricum on the body. Overall, although rumen-protected C. butyricum could alleviate the decrease in rumen pH, our results suggest that direct feeding of C. butyricum could help improve the immune performance of fattening goats.

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of inhaled Clostridium butyricum delivered via oxygen-driven nebulization with oral C. butyricum capsules in preventing drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia, using clinical and microbiological parameters as indicators. A total of 310 patients were randomly assigned to experimental group and control group. In the experimental group, each participant inhaled C. butyricum via oxygen-driven nebulization and orally took a placebo capsule containing glucose powder. In the control group, each participant inhaled sterile water via oxygen-driven nebulization and orally took a C. butyricum capsule daily. Key outcomes included body temperature, white blood cell (WBC) count, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level, chest X ray findings, tracheal tube secretion status, and sputum cultures for Pseudomonas aeruginosa , ESBL-producing Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae . The incidence of pneumonia was 46.45% (72/155) in the control group, compared to only 1.97% (3/152) in the experimental group (relative risk = 23.54, 95%CI: 7.58–73.08). The experiment group demonstrated significant improvements in clinical parameters, including reduced body temperature, lower WBC counts, and decreased hs-CRP level. Chest X-ray findings and tracheal tube secretion status also improved more markedly in the experiment group. Microbiological analysis revealed a significant reduction in the colonization of pathogenic bacteria in sputum cultures from the experiment group. In conclusion, inhaled C. butyricum delivered via oxygen-driven nebulization appears to be more effective than oral C. butyricum capsules in preventing drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia. These findings suggest that direct delivery of C. butyricum to the respiratory tract via oxygen-driven nebulization may enhance its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects, offering a promising strategy for prevention of drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia. Key points • Oxygen-driven nebulization of C. butyricum improved the clinical parameters. •  Oxygen-driven nebulization of C. butyricum improved tracheal tube secretion status. •  Oxygen-driven nebulization of C. butyricum reduced pathogenic bacteria production.

Abstract This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Clostridium butyricum and Enterococcus faecalis on growth performance, immune function, inflammation-related pathways, and microflora community in weaned piglets challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). One hundred and eighty 28-d-old weaned piglets were randomly divided into 3 treatments groups: piglets fed with a basal diet (Con), piglets fed with a basal diet containing 6 × 109 CFU C. butyricum·kg−1 (CB), and piglets fed with a basal diet containing 2 × 1010 CFU E. faecali·kg−1 (EF). At the end of trial, 1 pig was randomly selected from for each pen (6 pigs per treatment group) and these 18 piglets were orally challenged with LPS 25 μg·kg−1 body weight. The result showed that piglets fed C. butyricum and E. faecalis had greater final BW compared with the control piglets (P < 0.05). The C. butyricum and E. faecalis fed piglets had lower levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), IL-1β, tumor inflammatory factor-α (TNF-α), and had greater level of serum interferon-γ (IFN-γ) than control piglets at 1.5 and 3 h after injection with LPS (P < 0.05). Furthermore, piglets in the C. butyricum or E. faecalis treatment groups had a greater ratio of jejunal villus height to crypt depth (V/C) compared with control piglets after challenge with LPS for 3 h (P < 0.05). Compared with the control treatment, the CB and EF treatments significantly decreased the expression of inflammation-related pathway factors (TLR4, MyD88, and NF-κB) after challenge with LPS for 3 h (P < 0.05). High-throughput sequencing revealed that C. butyricum and E. faecalis modulated bacterial diversity in the colon. The species richness and alpha diversity (Shannon) of bacterial samples in CB or EF piglets challenged with LPS were higher than those in LPS-challenged control piglets. Furthermore, the relative abundance of Bacteroidales-Rikenellanceae in the CB group was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05), whereas EF piglets had a higher relative abundance of Lactobacillus amylovorus and Lactobacillus gasseri (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with C. butyricum or E. faecalis promoted growth performance, improved immunity, relieved intestinal villus damage and inflammation, and optimized the intestinal flora in LPS-challenged weaned piglets.

Clostridium butyricum (CB) is known to promote growth, enhance immunity, promote digestion, and improve intestinal health. In this study, we investigated the effects of CB in the feed on growth performance, digestion, and intestinal health of juvenile spotted sea bass. To provide a theoretical basis for the development and application of CB in the feed of spotted sea bass, a total of 450 spotted sea bass with an initial body weight of (9.58 ± 0.05) g were randomly divided into six groups. Gradient levels with 0, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.5% of CB (1×10 9 cfu/g) were supplemented into diets, designated as CC, CB1, CB2, CB3, CB4, and CB5, respectively. Each group was fed for 54 days. Our results suggest that dietary 0.2% and 0.3% of CB can significantly increase the weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) of spotted sea bass. The addition of CB significantly increased intestinal amylase activity, intestinal villus length, intestinal villus width, and intestinal muscle thickness. Similarly, CB supplementation increased the expression of tumor necrosis factor- α ( TNF-α ) and interleukin-8 ( IL-8 ). Sequence analysis of the bacterial 16S rDNA region showed that dietary CB altered the intestinal microbiota profile of juvenile spotted sea bass, increasing the dominant bacteria in the intestine and decreasing the harmful bacteria. Overall, dietary addition of CB can improve growth performance, enhance intestinal immunity, improve intestinal flora structure, and comprehensively improve the health of spotted sea bass.

To investigate the effects of Clostridium butyricum and Enterococcus faecium on the growth performance, lipid metabolism, and cecal microbiota of broilers, 264 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated into four treatments with six replicates in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement and fed four diets with two levels of C . butyricum (0 or 1 × 10 9  cfu/kg) and two levels of E . faecium (0 or 2 × 10 9  cfu/kg) for 42 days. There was no significant interaction between C . butyricum and E . faecium on the growth performance, lipid metabolism, and cecal microbiota of broilers. However, broilers supplemented with E . faecium had lower ( P  = 0.022) serum leptin level at day 21 and higher ( P  < 0.001) fatty acid synthase (FAS), malic enzyme (ME), and acetyl–CoA carboxylase (ACC) mRNA levels in the liver at day 42. Supplementation of C . butyricum improved ( P  < 0.05) the average daily feed intake and average daily gain, increased ( P  = 0.016) the serum insulin level at 21 days of age, enhanced ( P  < 0.05) the content of intramuscular fat, activities of FAS in the liver and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in the breast muscle, mRNA expression of FAS, ME, and ACC in the liver and LPL in the breast muscle at 42 days of age, but reduced ( P  = 0.030) cecal Bacteroidetes relative abundance at 21 days of age. The results of this study indicate that the increased intramuscular fat content of broilers fed C . butyricum as observed may be the result of enhanced lipogenesis.