The Comparison Study of TNF-α Level in Serum and Brain Tissue in Wistar Alzheimer's Rats Treated with Probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacter Strains

Alzheimer's disease is a type of brain dysfunction that gradually weakens the patient's mental abilities. Numerous studies have shown that inflammatory mechanisms also play a key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. In this regard, targeting TNF-α using its inhibitors can be an effective therapeutic strategy in controlling and treating such diseases. The purpose of this study was a comparison study of TNF-α levels in blood serum and brain tissue in Wistar Alzheimer ҆s rats treated with probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacter strains by ELISA. The number of amyloid plaques was also counted. For this purpose, 30 adults male Wistar rats were randomly distributed to 5 groups as follows (n = 6): The control group included animals receiving normal water; the Alzheimer's group who underwent surgery and became Alzheimer 's-induced by injection of beta-amyloid; Sham group who underwent surgery and was injected with water (beta-amyloid solvent); two experimental groups who underwent Alzheimer's surgery with beta-amyloid injection and each group received probiotic strains Limosilactobacillus reuteri  and Bifidobacterium longum separately at a dose of 2.5 × 109 CFU at 0.5 CC by gavage for one month. The results demonstrated that both strains, especially Bifidobacterium longum, were able to significantly (p < 0.001) reduce the amount of TNF-α in brain tissue and blood serum compared to the Alzheimer's group. Also, both strains, especially strain Bifidobacterium longum, showed notable capability of inhibiting amyloid plaques. Therefore, it seems that two probiotic strains Limosilactobacillus reuteri and Bifidobacterium longum can be good candidates to reduce the level of TNF-α in both blood serum and brain tissue and also the number of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's-induced rats.
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