Bifidobacterium longum attenuates ovariectomy-induced bone loss via modulating the Immunoporotic “Breg-Treg-Th17” cell axis

Discoveries in the last few years have emphasized the existence of an enormous breadth of communication between osteo-immune system. These discoveries fuel novel approaches for the treatment of several bone-pathologies including osteoporosis, an inflammatory bone anomaly affecting more than 500 million people globally. Bifidobacterium longum (BL) is preferred probiotic of choice due to its varied immunomodulatory potential in alleviating various inflammatory diseases. Here, we evaluate the effect of BL in ovariectomy (ovx)-induced post-menopausal osteoporotic mice model. Our in vitro findings reveal that BL suppresses the differentiation and functional activity of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in both mouse bone marrow cells and human PBMCs. Our in vivo data clearly establish that BL exhibits osteoprotective potential via modulating the “immunoporotic” Breg-Treg-Th17 cell-axis. Furthermore, µCT and bone mechanical strength data support that BL supplementation significantly enhanced bone mass and strength, and improved microarchitecture in ovx mice. Remarkably, alteration in frequencies of CD19 + CD1d hi CD5 + Bregs, CD4 + Foxp3 + IL-10 + Tregs, and CD4 + Rorγt + IL-17 + Th17 immune cells in distinct lymphoid organs along with serum-cytokine data (enhanced anti-osteoclastogenic cytokines IFN-γ and IL-10 and reduced osteoclastogenic-cytokines IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α) strongly support the immunomodulatory potential of BL. Altogether our findings establish a novel osteo-protective and immunoporotic potential of BL in augmenting bone health under osteoporotic conditions.