Pediococcus acidilactici (pA1c®) alleviates obesity-related dyslipidemia and inflammation in Wistar rats by activating beta-oxidation and modulating the gut microbiota

Due to the importance of the gut microbiota in the regulation of energy homeostasis, probiotics have
\nemerged as an alternative therapy to ameliorate obesity-related disturbances, including cholesterol
\nmetabolism dysregulation, dyslipidemia and inflammation. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to
\nevaluate the effect of the probiotic strain Pediococcus acidilactici (pA1c®) on the regulation of adiposity,
\ncholesterol and lipid metabolism, inflammatory markers and gut microbiota composition in diet-induced
\nobese rats. Twenty-nine four-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: rats fed a control
\ndiet (CNT group, n = 8), rats fed a high fat/high sucrose diet (HFS group, n = 11), and rats fed a HFS diet
\nsupplemented with pA1c® (pA1c®group, n = 10). Organs and fat depots were weighed, and different biochemical parameters were analysed in serum. Gene expression analyses in the adipose tissue were conducted using real-time quantitative-PCR. Faecal microbiota composition was evaluated using 16S metagenomics. Animals supplemented with pA1c® exhibited a lower proportion of visceral adiposity, a higher
\nproportion of muscle, an improvement in the total-cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio and a decrease in
\nthe total cholesterol, triglyceride and aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) serum levels, together with a
\ndecrease in several inflammation-related molecules. The expression of key genes related to adipose
\n(Adipoq, Cebpa and Pparg) and glucose (Slc2a1 and Slc2a4) metabolism in the adipose tissue was normalized by pA1c®. Moreover, it was demonstrated that pA1c® supplementation activated fatty acid
\nβ-oxidation in the adipose tissue and the liver. Metagenomics demonstrated the presence of pA1c® in the
\nfaecal samples, an increase in alpha diversity, an increase in the abundance of beneficial bacteria, and a
\ndecrease in the abundance of harmful micro-organisms, including the Streptococcus genus. Thus, our
\ndata suggest the potential of pA1c® in the prevention of obesity-related disturbances including hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis.