Treatment with a probiotic combination reduces abdominal adhesion in rats by decreasing intestinal inflammation and restoring microbial composition

Abdominal adhesions refer to abnormal adhesions which cause a series of complications in numerous patients. In the present study, the beneficial effect of a combination of probiotics (Lactobacillus plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium animalis) on abdominal adhesions in a rat model were verified. The present results indicated that probiotic treatment significantly reduced the levels of proinflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha in serum and intestinal tissue (P<0.05), and markedly downregulated the inflammatory (TLR4/NF-kappa B) and fibrotic (TGF-beta 1/Smad) signalling pathways in intestinal tissue, especially in the prevention group (P<0.01). The high-throughput sequencing results further supported that the probiotics significantly increased the relative abundance of probiotic Bacteroidetes (at the phylum level), Bacteroidales (at the order level), Lactobacillales (at the order level) and Lactobacillus (at the genus level), and markedly reduced the number of pathogenic Proteobacteria (at the phylum level), Erysipelotrichales (at the order level), Verrucomicrobiales (at the order level), Klebsiella (at the genus level) and Serratia (at the genus level). In conclusion, probiotics can effectively reduce abdominal adhesions by restoring the microbial balance and reducing inflammation and fibrosis caused by surgery.