Use of Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 as therapeutic strategy for prevention of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced intestinal injury

Background and Purpose: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be associated with severe adverse digestive effects. This study examined the protective effects of the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 in a rat model of diclofenac-induced enteropathy. Experimental Approach: Enteropathy was induced in 40-week-old male rats by intragastric diclofenac (4 mg·kg−1 BID for 14 days). S. boulardii CNCM I-745 (3 g·kg−1 BID by oral gavage) was administered starting 14 days before (preventive protocol) or along with (curative protocol) diclofenac administration. Ileal damage, inflammation, barrier integrity, gut microbiota composition and toll-like receptors (TLRs)–nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) pathway were evaluated. Key Results: Diclofenac elicited intestinal damage, along with increments of myeloperoxidase, malondialdehyde, tumour necrosis factor and interleukin-1β, overexpression of TLR2/4, myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (Myd88) and NF-κB p65, increased faecal calprotectin and butyrate levels, and decreased blood haemoglobin levels, occludin and butyrate transporter monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) expression. In addition, diclofenac provoked a shift of bacterial taxa in both faecal and ileal samples. Treatment with S. boulardii CNCM I-745, in both preventive and curative protocols, counteracted the majority of these deleterious changes. Only preventive administration of the probiotic counteracted NSAID-induced decreased expression of MCT1 and increase in faecal butyrate levels. Occludin expression, after probiotic treatment, did not significantly change. Conclusions and Implications: Treatment with S. boulardii CNCM I-745 prevents diclofenac-induced enteropathy through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Such effects are likely to be related to increased tissue butyrate bioavailability, through an improvement of butyrate uptake by the enteric mucosa.