Synbiotic Supplementation Modulates Gut Microbiota, Regulates β-Catenin Expression and Prevents Weight Gain in ob/ob Mice: Preliminary Findings

Background: Obesity is one of the main health problems in the world today, and dysbiosis seems to be one of the factors involved. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of synbiotic supplementation on obesity and the microbiota in ob/ob mice. Twenty animals were divided into four groups: obese treated (OT), obese control (OC), lean treated (LT) and lean control (LC). All animals received a standard diet for 8 weeks. The treated groups received a synbiotic (Simbioflora-Invictus Farmanutrição Ltd., Sao Paulo, Brazil) in water, while the nontreated groups received only water. After 8 weeks, all animals were sacrificed, and gut tissue and stool samples were collected for mRNA isolation and microbiota analysis, respectively. β-Catenin, occludin, cadherin and zonulin in the gut tissue were analyzed via RT-qPCR. Microbiome DNA was extracted from stool samples and sequenced using an Ion PGM Torrent platform. Results: Synbiotic supplementation reduced body weight gain in the OT group compared with the OC group (p = 0.0398) and was associated with an increase in Enterobacteriaceae (p = 0.005) and a decrease in Cyanobacteria (p = 0.047), Clostridiaceae (p = 0.026), Turicibacterales (p = 0.005) and Coprococcus (p = 0.047). On the other hand, a significant reduction in Sutterella (p = 0.009) and Turicibacter (p = 0.005) bacteria was observed in the LT group compared to the LC group. Alpha and beta diversities were different among all treated groups. β-Catenin gene expression was significantly decreased in the gut tissue of the OT group (p ≤ 0.0001) compared to the other groups. No changes were observed in occludin, cadherin or zonulin gene expression in the gut tissue. Conclusions: Synbiotic supplementation prevents excessive weight gain, modulates the gut microbiota, and reduces β-catenin expression in ob/ob mice.