Bifidobacterium improves oestrogen-deficiency-induced osteoporosis in mice by modulating intestinal immunity

Abstract

Osteoporosis has become one of the major diseases that threaten the health of middle-aged and elderly people, and with the growth of an ageing population, more and more people are affected by osteoporosis these days. In recent years, intestinal flora has been found to affect the host immune system, and an overactive immune system is closely related to bone resorption. Probiotics can effectively improve bone density and strength, reduce bone loss, and improve osteoporosis, but their mechanism of action and relationship with intestinal microbiota are still unclear. In this study, two strains of Bifidobacterium (Bifidobacterium bifidum FL228.1 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis F1–7) that can alleviate intestinal inflammation were screened based on previous experiments. Through the construction of an ovariectomized mouse model, the improvement of osteoporosis by Bifidobacterium was detected, and the influence of Bifidobacterium on intestinal immunity was explored. The results show that Bifidobacterium treatment significantly improved bone mineral density (BMD), bone volume/total volume ratio (BV/TV), and trabecular number (Tb·N), and effectively suppressed bone loss. Furthermore, Bifidobacterium treatment could inhibit the expression of inflammatory cytokines in the gut, alleviate gut inflammation, and thus suppress excessive osteoclast generation. Its mechanism of action includes factors that protect the mucosal barrier, including occludin, ZO-1, claudin-2, and MUC2, and the reduction of pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages. B. bifidum FL228.1 increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria in the colon, including Lactobacillus and Colidextribacter. B. animalis F1–7 increased the abundance of Bifidobacterium and decreased the abundance of Desulfovibrio and Ruminococcus in the colon. These research findings expand our understanding of the gut–bone axis and provide new guidance for the development of probiotic-based therapies for osteoporosis in the future.