Summary: Probiotics have recently attracted increasing interest for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers tested the ability of probiotics to contrast oxidative stress and inflammation induced by sleep loss. Findings concluded that probiotic supplementation could be a positive strategy to counteract oxidative stress and inflammation promoted by sleep loss.
Source: University of Camerino
Sleep is a fundamental behavior that fills approximately one-third of a human’s lifetime and is critical for both physical and mental well-being.
Chronic Sleep Restriction (CSR), is generally defined as habitual sleep durations that are less than seven hours, but more than four hours, a night. CSR can lead to a range of brain deficits, including impaired attention and learning, and is associated with increased risk of neuropsychiatric disorders and other conditions.
New findings support that probiotic supplementation reduces the effect of inflammation and oxidative stress induced by CSR.
Epidemiological investigations have estimated that about 30% of adults and adolescents regularly experience insufficient sleep often due to professional obligations and lifestyle habits.
Growing evidence has demonstrated that CSR is linked to a low-grade inflammation, as reflected by increased inflammatory plasma cytokines and by the presence of other markers of inflammation in the brain, such as activation of microglia cells.
In addition, insufficient sleep can lead to the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or reactive nitrogen species (RNS), resulting in an unbalance between the oxidant and antioxidant systems of the body.
Excessive ROS and RNS can react with carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and DNA, and therefore, causes oxidative stress-related cellular damage and increased risk of disease, and in extreme cases, even death.
Sleep deprivation also affects energy homeostasis and has been associated with perturbed blood levels of peptide hormones, including ghrelin, leptin, and glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP-1) [13,14]. Probiotics have been attracting increasing interest in recent years for their ability to ameliorate inflammation-related illnesses.
Numerous studies suggested that probiotics can effectively reduce both peripheral and central inflammation through multiple pathways. The underlying mechanism is associated with rebalancing of gut flora alteration, improvement of gut permeability, and modulation of immune function with lower production of proinflammatory cytokines.
Further, probiotics can regulate microglia maturation and activity, and may also prevent neuroinflammatory processes, with positive impact in a series of diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and neurodegenerative conditions.
It has additionally been observed that probiotics and/or bacterial metabolites can interact with the host by modulating the level of both endogenous and exogenous ROS, ultimately improving oxidative status.
Long-term supplementation with multi-strain probiotic formulation exerted antioxidant and neuroprotective effects in a transgenic Alzheimer’s disease mouse model by activating the silencing information regulator 2 related enzymes 1 (SIRT1) pathway.
Several studies have provided evidence that sleep deprivation can perturb the composition of gut microbiota. By inducing a breakdown of the intestinal epithelial barrier, sleep disruption may favor the passage of bacteria and their end-products, thus affecting the host and promoting immune reaction and inflammation.
Thus, sleep loss associated inflammation may depend, at least in part, on an alteration of the gut microbiota physiology. There is also evidence that administration of probiotics can improve sleep.
Manipulation of the gut microbiota through the administration of single or multi-strain probiotics can ameliorate sleep quality by reducing the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a common indicator reflecting the impairment of sleep quality.
Our multidisciplinary and multicenter team tested the hypothesis that regular oral supplementation with a multi- strain probiotic formulation can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation induced by CSR.
For this test, we administered a mixture of several probiotic strains (SLAB51 formulation sold as Agimixx®) or a vehicle in normal sleeping mice and in mice exposed to CSR, and we assessed the extent of oxidative damage and inflammation in the brain and at systemic level using biochemical and morphological methods.
About this insomnia research news
Author: Dr. Anna Maria Eleuten
Source: University of Camerino
Contact: Dr. Anna Marie Eleuten – University of Camerino
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access.
“Probiotics Supplementation Attenuates Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Induced by Chronic Sleep Restriction” by Anna Marie Eleuten et al. Nutrients
Abstract
Probiotics Supplementation Attenuates Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Induced by Chronic Sleep Restriction
Background: Insufficient sleep is a serious public health problem in modern society. It leads to increased risk of chronic diseases, and it has been frequently associated with cellular oxidative damage and widespread low-grade inflammation. Probiotics have been attracting increasing interest recently for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we tested the ability of probiotics to contrast oxidative stress and inflammation induced by sleep loss.
Methods: We administered a multi-strain probiotic formulation (SLAB51) or water to normal sleeping mice and to mice exposed to 7 days of chronic sleep restriction (CSR). We quantified protein, lipid, and DNA oxidation as well as levels of gut–brain axis hormones and pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the brain and plasma. Furthermore, we carried out an evaluation of microglia morphology and density in the mouse cerebral cortex.
Results: We found that CSR induced oxidative stress and inflammation and altered gut–brain axis hormones. SLAB51 oral administration boosted the antioxidant capacity of the brain, thus limiting the oxidative damage provoked by loss of sleep. Moreover, it positively regulated gut–brain axis hormones and reduced peripheral and brain inflammation induced by CSR.
Conclusions: Probiotic supplementation can be a possible strategy to counteract oxidative stress and inflammation promoted by sleep loss.
