Parabacteroides distasonis alleviates enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-induced diarrhea in mice by mediating gut microbiota

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli is one of the major pathogens that cause diarrhea in young piglets resulting in tremendous economic losses. Elucidating the interaction between gut microbiota and ETEC is of interest in the development of alternative therapeutics that do not rely on antibiotics. This study aims to investigate the mitigative effects of Parabacteroides distasonis on ETEC-induced diarrhea in mice model. We observed a significant protection manifesting an increase expression of tight junction proteinsand a decreased expression of proinflammatory cytokines . P. distasonis also repaired intestinal damage and villus lengths caused by ETEC infection. Additionally, gut microbiota dysbiosis was improved by increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria the Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group and B. uniformis. In total, our study suggests that P. distasonis could alleviate ETEC-induced diarrhea by re-shaping gut microbiota and is an alternative strategy to control ETEC infection.