Metformin is a first-line drug for DM2 treatment and prevention, but its complex effect on impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), including its influence on myocardial resistance to ischemia-reperfusion injury, is not completely studied. We aimed to evaluate the influence of metformin on the intestinal microbiota (IM), metabolism, and functional and morphological characteristics of myocardium in rats with IGT. IGT was modelled in SPF Wistar rats with a high-fat diet and streptozotocin and nicotinamide injection. Rats were divided into three groups: IGT (without treatment), IGT MET (metformin therapy), and CRL (without IGT induction and treatment). IGT group was characterized by: higher body weight, increased serum glucose and total cholesterol levels, atherogenic coefficient, impairment in the functional parameters of the isolated heart during perfusion, and larger myocardium infarction (MI) size in comparison with the CRL group. IM of IGT rats differed from that of CRL: an increase of Bacteroides, Acinetobacter, Akkermansia, Roseburia, and a decrease of Lactobacillus genera representation. Metformin therapy led to the diminishing of metabolic syndrome (MS) symptoms, which correlated with IM restoration, especially with the growth of Akkermansia spp. and decline of Roseburia populations and their influence on other members of IM. The obtained results allow us to consider from a new point of view the expediency of probiotic A. muciniphila use for MS treatment.

Despite great advances in the treatment of oncological diseases, the development of medical technologies to prevent or reduce complications of therapy, in particular, those associated with surgery and the introduction of antibiotics, remains relevant. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of autoprobiotics based on indigenous non-pathogenic strains of Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus hirae as a personalized functional food product (PFFP) in the complex therapy of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the early postoperative period. A total of 36 patients diagnosed with CRC were enrolled in the study. Study group A comprised 24 CRC patients who received autoprobiotic therapy in the early postoperative period, while the control group C included 12 CRC patients without autoprobiotic therapy. Prior to surgery and between days 14 and 16 post-surgery, comprehensive evaluations were conducted on all patients, encompassing the following: stool and gastroenterological complaints analysis, examination of the gut microbiota (bacteriological study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, metagenome analysis), and analysis of interleukins in the serum. Results: The use of autoprobiotics led to a decrease in dyspeptic complaints after surgery. It was also associated with the absence of postoperative complications, did not cause any side effects, and led to a decrease in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-18) in the blood serum. The use of autoprobiotics led to positive changes in the structure of escherichia and enterococci populations, the elimination of Parvomonas micra and Fusobacterium nucleatum, and a decrease in the quantitative content of Clostridium perfringens and Akkermansia muciniphila. Metagenomic analysis (16S rRNA) revealed an increase in alpha diversity. Conclusion: The introduction of autoprobiotics in the postoperative period is a highly effective and safe approach in the complex treatment of CRC. Future studies will allow the discovery of additional fine mechanisms of autoprobiotic therapy and its impact on the digestive, immune, endocrine, and neural systems.

In recent years, great interest has arisen in the use of autoprobiotics (indigenous bacteria isolated from the organism and introduced into the same organism after growing). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of indigenous bifidobacteria on intestinal microbiota and digestive enzymes in a rat model of antibiotic-associated dysbiosis. Our results showed that indigenous bifidobacteria (the Bf group) accelerate the disappearance of dyspeptic symptoms in rats and prevent an increase in chyme mass in the upper intestine compared to the group without autoprobiotics (the C1 group), but significantly increase the mass of chyme in the colon compared to the C1 group and the control group (healthy animals). In the Bf group in the gut microbiota, the content of opportunistic bacteria (Proteus spp., enteropathogenic Escherichia coli) decreased, and the content of some beneficial bacteria (Bifidobacterium spp., Dorea spp., Blautia spp., the genus Ruminococcus, Prevotella, Oscillospira) changed compared to the control group. Unlike the C1 group, in the Bf group there was no decrease in the specific activities of maltase and alkaline phosphatase in the mucosa of the upper intestine, but the specific activity of maltase was decreased in the colon chyme compared to the control and C1 groups. In the Bf group, the specific activity of aminopeptidase N was reduced in the duodenum mucosa and the colon chyme compared to the control group. We concluded that indigenous bifidobacteria can protect the microbiota and intestinal digestive enzymes in the intestine from disorders caused by dysbiosis; however, there may be impaired motor function of the colon.

The features of gut microbiota in metabolic syndrome (MS) and ways to correct it using autoprobiotics, based on indigenous bacteria obtained from fecal samples of the host, remain unexplored. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of an indigenous consortium (IC) of fecal bacteria in treatment of patients with MS. The study was carried out on 36 patients with MS, manifested with abdominal obesity, eating disorders, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The control group was formed by 20 healthy volunteers. Samples of IC and gut microbiota content were examined by qPCR and metagenome (16S rRNA) analysis before and after therapy. The decrease in anthropometric parameters of obesity, liver enzyme level correction, reduction in C reactive protein and triglyceride concentrations were revealed after IC usage. The decrease in genera Bifidobacterium, Enterobacter, Paraprevotella, and Prevotella, as well as an increase in Bacteroides fragilis and Oscillospira spp. populations were shown after consumption of IC. A negative correlation between the quantity of B. fragilis and the anthropometric parameters of obesity (r = −0.48) and C reactive protein level (r = −0.36) in serum was established. Thus, IC can be considered as a potential functional personified product for the therapy of MS.

The aim. To assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and gut bacteria in men and women with obesity.Materials and methods. The study included 56 overweight patients, divided into 2 groups. The first group consisted of 27 women (the average age was 62 ± 2.2 years), the second group — 29 men (the average age was 55 ± 9 years). The Quetelet index (kg / m²) was calculated for all patients. To study the gut microbiome, the method of polymerase chain reaction in real time (RT-PCR) and metagenomic sequencing were used. DNA from feces was isolated using the Express-DNA-Bio DNA isolation kit (AlkorBio, Russia). To carry out RT-PCR, a set of reagents “Colonoflor-16” (“Alfalab”, Russia) was used. For microbiome sequencing, DNA libraries were prepared using the Illumina Nextera Sample Preparation Kit with DNA primers corresponding to the V3 — V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. The study of fecal samples was carried out using 16S rRNA gene sequencing on the Illumina platform (MiSeq sequencer).Results. It was revealed that a higher total number of bacteria, an increased content of Bacteroides fragilis group and Faeca-libacterium prausnitzii, is statistically significantly more common in women than in men. Strong negative correlations were found between BMI and total bacterial mass, between BMI and the number of Bacteroides fragilis group among women with grade I obesity. In overweight men, a correlation was found between BMI and the Bacteroides fragilis group / Faecalibacterium prausnitzii ratio.Conclusions. The total number of bacteria, the content of Bacteroides fragilis group and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the gut of patients have statistically significant associations with BMI, and probably can affect the formation of metabolic disorders to a greater extent in women than in men. To clarify the identified trends and patterns in this pilot study, further study of the microbiome with a large number of patients and additional analyzes of the metagenome (16S rRNA) and metabolome, a transcriptome, allowing to control the expression of key metabolic enzymes, largely associated with the compositional features of the gut microbiocenosis, is required.

BACKGROUND: Bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract regulate eating behavior and metabolic processes. A number of probiotic strains have a positive effect on glucose and insulin metabolism. A series of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of autoprobiotic therapy in the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal diseases. The efficacy and safety of an indigenous strain of Enterococcus faecium in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes has not been studied in the past. AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of products containing the probiotic strain Enterococcus faecium L3 or the indigenous strain Enterococcus faecium in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 were randomized into two groups: group of probiotic therapy with an industrial strain of Enterococcus faecium L3 (11 patients); group of autoprobiotic therapy based on an indigenous strain of Enterococcus faecium (9 patients). Therapy was for 14 days. Before and 10-14 days after the end of therapy, anthropometric parameters were assessed; psychometric testing was carried out; biochemical parameters of blood serum were studied. The intestinal microbiota was studied by real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Probiotic therapy based on Enterococcus faecium L3 and autoprobiotic therapy based on indigenous Enterococcus faecium had no significant effect on glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 DM. In the Enterococcus faecium L3 group and the group of indigenous Enterococcus faecium there was a significant decrease in gastroenterological complaints on scales of the GSRS questionnaire. Patients in both groups showed a statistically significant decrease in the total bacterial mass, an increase in the quantitative content of Lactobacillus spp., a decrease in the population of Bifidobacterium spp. and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. CONCLUSIONS: The probiotic strain Enterococcus faecium L3 and the indigenous Enterococcus faecium do not have a significant effect on the metabolism of glucose and insulin, while they contribute to a similar change in the component composition of the microbiota and a decrease in the severity of gastroenterological complaints.