ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Intestinal Microbiome
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1624065
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Potential Relationship between Animal Gut Microbiota and Liver DiseaseView all 3 articles
Microbiota Composition and Intestinal Barrier Function Modulated by Tamsulosin and Lactococcus lactis in a Cirrhosis Rat Model
Provisionally accepted
Silvia Valeria Padilla-García1
Abraham Loera-Muro2Martin Humberto Muñoz-Ortega3David Alejandro Hernández-Marín4
Javier Ventura-Juárez5
Sandra Luz Martínez-Hernández4*- 1Departamento Morfología, Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
- 2CONACYT-Biological Research Center of the Northwest, SC., La Paz, Baja California Sur., Mexico
- 3Departamento de Química, Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
- 4Departamento de Microbiología, Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
- 5Departamento de Morfología, Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
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The pathological progression of cirrhosis disrupts the gut-liver axis. Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) exhibits immunomodulatory properties and an ability to enhance intestinal barrier function.It has been demonstrated that tamsulosin has antifibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects in hepatic injury models. This study evaluated the effect of a tamsulosin and L. lactis co-treatment on the recovery of microbiota and intestinal barrier integrity in a Wistar rat liver cirrhosis model.Male Wistar rats were administered CCl₄ intraperitoneally for 4 weeks.Subsequently, rats received tamsulosin, L. lactis, or both, orally for 2 weeks. The intestinal microbiota was assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Intestinal barrier integrity was evaluated using qPCR and Western blot for proteins ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-2. Bacterial translocation was evaluated by endotoxin concentration, bacterial DNA, and microbial culture of extraintestinal tissues. Finally, hepatic, intestinal histology, and liver function markers were analyzed. Results: L. lactis and its combination with tamsulosin (T/L. lactis) increased microbial diversity and promoted a balanced gut microbiota characterized by a Firmicutes predominance followed by Proteobacteria and reduced Clostridia and Gammaproteobacteria levels. L. lactis group upregulated ZO-1 and occludin expression, while no significant changes were observed with tamsulosin or T/L. actis groups, nonetheless, intestinal morphology resembled that of healthy controls. Bacterial translocation analysis revealed no endotoxins, bacterial DNA, or bacteria in extraintestinal tissues.Both treatments also improved hepatic and intestinal histology, with partial liver function recovery.Conclusión: Findings such as reduced bacterial translocation, lower systemic endotoxin levels, improved intestinal morphology, and modulation of gut microbiota composition suggest that both agents (L. lactis and tamsulosin), particularly in combination, exert positive effects on the intestinal barrier in cirrhosis.
Keywords: Tamsulosin, L. lactis, microbiota, intestinal permeability, Bacterial Translocation, cirrhosis
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 18 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Padilla-García, Loera-Muro, Muñoz-Ortega, Hernández-Marín, Ventura-Juárez and Martínez-Hernández. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sandra Luz Martínez-Hernández, Departamento de Microbiología, Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
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