Can E. coli Nissle vesicles calm experimental colitis?
Oral outer-membrane vesicles from probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 reduced DSS colitis severity in mice and lowered inflammatory cytokines while restoring TFF-3.
Source
Intestinal Anti-inflammatory Effects of Outer Membrane Vesicles from <i>Escherichia coli</i> Nissle 1917 in DSS-Experimental Colitis in Mice
Study at a glance
- Design
- Animal / in-vitro — DSS colitis in male C57BL/6J mice; 10-day EcN OMV pretreatment, 5-day 3% DSS, then recovery; oral OMVs 5 μg/day
- N
- N=24 · non-colitic n=6, colitic n=9, OMV-treated n=9 (male C57BL/6J, 7–9 weeks)
- Population
- Male C57BL/6J mice with DSS-induced colitis
- Outcome
- DAI/weight, colon oedema, histology, cytokines, and barrier marker TFF-3
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
What they did
Randomized male C57BL/6J mice to non-colitic, DSS, or DSS plus daily oral EcN OMVs (5 μg) for 20 days, with 3% DSS on days 10–15, then scored clinical disease, histology, cytokines, and barrier genes.
What they found
OMVs reduced weight loss and DAI, lowered colon weight/length (oedema), improved histology (P<0.05), significantly cut IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-17 mRNA, raised IL-10, and restored TFF-3 toward non-colitic levels (ZO-1 downregulation was not reversed).
The limits
What it doesn't show
Mouse DSS colitis is not human ulcerative colitis; OMVs were given as pretreatment, n is small, and human safety/efficacy of non-viable vesicles was not tested.
Key terms
- Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN)
- Probiotic strain used clinically to induce/maintain ulcerative colitis remission.
- Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs)
- Gram-negative blebs that deliver bacterial proteins and other cargo to the host.
- DSS colitis
- Dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water that injures the colon and models IBD-like inflammation.
- DAI
- Disease activity index combining weight loss, diarrhea, and bleeding.
- TFF-3
- Trefoil factor 3, a marker of intestinal barrier/repair downregulated in DSS colitis.
Flashcards
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Quiz yourself
EcN OMVs were dosed at:
Common questions
What dose of OMVs was used?
Purified EcN OMVs orally at 5 μg/day.
How many mice per group?
Non-colitic n=6; colitic and OMV-treated n=9 each.
Which cytokines fell significantly?
IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-17 versus DSS controls.
Was ZO-1 restored?
No; TFF-3 recovered but ZO-1 downregulation was not counteracted.
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