Soluble Mediators Derived from Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) Decrease Visceral Pain Hypersensitivity Induced by Early Life Stress

Maternal separation of rat pups is a robust and reliable model of early life stress that induces long-term alterations to behavior and brain neurochemistry. These changes are particularly apparent with respect to the microbiota-gut-brain axis where probiotic feeding has been shown to ameliorate some of these stress-induced alterations. It is possible that biologically relevant products of probiotic metabolism are involved in such effects, and therefore could deliver the required benefits without requiring the live organism to be present. In this study the effects of a specific preparation of soluble mediators from the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) were evaluated. Previously, immunomodulatory properties of this material have been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. Production conditions have been standardized with cultivation and downstream processing steps such as desalting, sterile filtration and lyophilization. The maternal separation protocol was conducted as described in O’Mahony et a...