Silk Fibroin Coated <i>Lactobacillus Plantarum</i> Lac16 Ameliorates Alcoholic Liver Disease by Modulating Bile Acid Metabolism and Gut‐Liver Axis

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a major global health burden with limited therapeutic methods. Emerging evidence highlights the gut-liver axis as a critical role of ALD pathogenesis, involving gut microbiota dysbiosis, intestinal barrier dysfunction, and disrupted bile acid metabolism. Probiotics, particularly Lactobacillus plantarum, have shown promise in mitigating ALD, but their efficacy is limited by poor gastrointestinal survival. Here, we developed silk fibroin coated Lactobacillus plantarum Lac16 (SLac16) to enhance probiotic viability and evaluated its protective effects in a murine ALD model. SLac16 significantly attenuated alcohol induced liver injury, reducing serum ALT, AST, and lipid levels while suppressing hepatic inflammation. Mechanistically, SLac16 restored intestinal barrier integrity by upregulating tight junction genes of ZO-1 and occluding, while reshaping gut microbiota composition, including downregulation of F/B ratio and upregulation of Muribaculum. Notably, SLac16 modulated bile acid metabolism by increasing hepatoprotective secondary bile acids including chenodeoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid and activating the FXR/SHP/CYP8B1/MRP2/BSEP signaling axis, thereby reducing bile acid toxicity. Compared to uncoated Lac16, SLac16 exhibited superior gastrointestinal survival and therapeutic efficacy, demonstrating its potential as a novel ALD treatment. This findings highlight SLac16 as a multi targeted probiotic therapy that restores gut-liver homeostasis through microbiota modulation, barrier repair, and bile acid regulation.

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Small
Published
2026-01-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202511416
Primary Topic
Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
Type
article
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article

Silk Fibroin Coated Lactobacillus Plantarum Lac16 Ameliorates Alcoholic Liver Disease by Modulating Bile Acid Metabolism and Gut‐Liver Axis

T. Chen, Fang Wang, Jinhui Zhu, Yan Li et al.
Small
Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
article

Silk Fibroin Coated Lactobacillus Plantarum Lac16 Ameliorates Alcoholic Liver Disease by Modulating Bile Acid Metabolism and Gut‐Liver Axis

T. Chen, Fang Wang, Jinhui Zhu, Yan Li, Mengqiu Yin, Xi Chen, Qiao Zhang, Ziyu Liu, Zhuqing Meng, Ziman Cui, Chongyu Wang, Huiyu Han
article en

Abstract

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a major global health burden with limited therapeutic methods. Emerging evidence highlights the gut-liver axis as a critical role of ALD pathogenesis, involving gut microbiota dysbiosis, intestinal barrier dysfunction, and disrupted bile acid metabolism. Probiotics, particularly Lactobacillus plantarum, have shown promise in mitigating ALD, but their efficacy is limited by poor gastrointestinal survival. Here, we developed silk fibroin coated Lactobacillus plantarum Lac16 (SLac16) to enhance probiotic viability and evaluated its protective effects in a murine ALD model. SLac16 significantly attenuated alcohol induced liver injury, reducing serum ALT, AST, and lipid levels while suppressing hepatic inflammation. Mechanistically, SLac16 restored intestinal barrier integrity by upregulating tight junction genes of ZO-1 and occluding, while reshaping gut microbiota composition, including downregulation of F/B ratio and upregulation of Muribaculum. Notably, SLac16 modulated bile acid metabolism by increasing hepatoprotective secondary bile acids including chenodeoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid and activating the FXR/SHP/CYP8B1/MRP2/BSEP signaling axis, thereby reducing bile acid toxicity. Compared to uncoated Lac16, SLac16 exhibited superior gastrointestinal survival and therapeutic efficacy, demonstrating its potential as a novel ALD treatment. This findings highlight SLac16 as a multi targeted probiotic therapy that restores gut-liver homeostasis through microbiota modulation, barrier repair, and bile acid regulation.

SmallVol. 22(18)
Institute of Animal Sciences (CN), Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (CN), First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University (CN)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 74%
Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
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