Bee pollen and propolis improve neuroinflammation and dysbiosis induced by propionic acid, a short chain fatty acid in a rodent model of autism

Lipids in Health and Disease

Abeer Al-Dbass¹  Ramesa Shafi Bhat¹  Kawther Aabed²  Nadine Moubayed³  Nada M. Merghani⁴  Norah Algahtani⁴  Afaf El-Ansary⁵  Azizah Alanazi⁶  Naima Zayed⁷ 

[1] Biochemistry Department, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Biology Department, College of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Biology Department, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Central laboratory, Female Centre for Scientific and Medical Studies, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Central laboratory, Female Centre for Scientific and Medical Studies, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Therapeutic Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt;Department of Cell Biology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Therapeutic Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt;

关键词: Autism;    Propionic acid;    Cytokines;    Neuroinflammation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12944-019-1150-0

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundNeuroinflammation plays a major role in the pathogenesis of autism because the cytokine levels are typically disturbed in the brain in autistic patients. Prebiotics-rich diet maintains the healthy gut microbiota and hence can regulate the neuroinflammation indirectly. The study aimed to investigate the role of bee pollen and propolis in ameliorating neuroinflammation, including cytokine levels, in an animal model of autism.MethodsHamsters were classified as four groups: Group I, control; Group II, autistic model/animals treated with 250 mg propionic acid (PPA)/kg body weight (BW)/day for 3 days; Group III, animals treated with bee pollen at a dose of 250 mg/kg BW/day for 4 weeks; and Group IV, animals treated with propolis at a dose of 250 mg/kg BW/day for 4 weeks. Neuroinflammatory responses were evaluated using the levels of interferon γ (IFN-γ), interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1α), IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 (p70), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα).ResultsSignificant decrease of IL-10 (P<0.026), VEGF (P<0.005), and TNFα(P<0.005) levels and increased IL-1α (P<0.032), IL-6(P<0.028), and IFN-γ (P<0.013) levels were observed between the four studied groups. The neurotoxic effects of PPA was clearly presented as much higher IL-6, as pro-inflammatory cytokine (P<0.05), concomitant with much lower IL-10, as anti-inflammatory cytokine(P<0.015) compared to controls. Both bee pollen and propolis were effective in ameliorating the neurotoxic effects of PPA demonstrating non-significant changes of IL-6 and IL-10 when compared to control healthy hamsters.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that both bee pollen and propolis protect against neuroinflammation in the rodent model of autism. However, further studies are needed to investigate the clinical benefits of prebiotics-rich diet in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism.

【 授权许可】

CC BY