Protective Effects of Bifidobacterium bifidum Strains with IgA-Potentiating Activity Against ETEC Infection in Weanling Mice
Abstract
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) remains a leading cause of diarrheal morbidity and mortality in infants and young children worldwide. Weanling infants are particularly vulnerable due to the loss of maternal immunoglobulin A (IgA) protection and insufficient endogenous IgA production. Bifidobacterium bifidum FL228.1 and FL276.1 have been identified as strains capable of enhancing intestinal IgA levels in healthy weanling mice; however, their protective efficacy under pathogenic challenge was unknown. In this study, these strains were evaluated in an ETEC-infected weanling mouse model. Oral supplementation with FL228.1 or FL276.1 was associated with elevated small intestinal IgA levels (29.30% and 19.27%, respectively) and increased numbers of IgA⁺ cells (1.85-fold and 1.67-fold) compared with uninfected controls. Notably, both interventions markedly reduced ETEC load, alleviated growth retardation, mitigated intestinal tissue injury, and reduced systemic inflammatory responses. In addition, the probiotics counteracted ETEC-induced gut dysbiosis by restricting the overgrowth of pathogenic taxa (e.g., Escherichia-Shigella) and preserving beneficial populations (e.g., norank_f__Muribaculaceae). These results indicate that FL228.1 and FL276.1 confer protection against ETEC infection in weanling mice, an effect associated with their IgA-potentiating activity alongside modulation of inflammation, barrier function, and gut microbiota composition.
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B. bifidum is characteristic of the bifidobacterial communities residing in the infant gut and contributes to early microbial colonization, alongside B. breve.
“B. bifidum is characteristic of the bifidobacterial communities residing in the infant gut and contributes to early microbial colonization, alongside Bifidobacterium breve [6-10] .”
From Genome-scale insights into the metabolic landscape and evolutionary development of Bifidobacterium bifidum (2026) · cites this paper as [6]
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- Authors
- Zhao, M., Ma, Q., Meng, Y., Hung, W., Zhao, W., Zeng, Z., Yi, H., Zhang, L., & Zhang, Z.
- Affiliations
- Ocean University of China (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Zhang, Lanwei
- Zhang, Zhe
- Venue
- Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins
- Published
- 2025-10-06
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 4598-4609
- ISSN
- 1867-1306 (ISSN-L)
- 1867-1314
- OpenAlex
- W4414848754
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3
- FWCI
- 1.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2024YFE0111400)
- the Natural Science Foundation of China (32402044)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Infant Nutrition and Health
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Endocrinology › Escherichia coli research studies
- Keywords
- Bifidobacterium bifidum, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, probiotics, weanling mice, infant diarrhea, intestinal IgA, gut dysbiosis, intestinal inflammation, intestinal barrier function, gut microbiota, Escherichia-Shigella, Muribaculaceae
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Animals, Escherichia coli Infections, Female, Humans, Immunoglobulin A, Male, Weaning, Probiotics, Mice, Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
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