Lallemand Health Solutions’ Scientific Exchange 2021: Close to elucidating new mechanistic pathways for specific probiotics
On Friday, April 23 took place, virtually, the 11th edition of the Scientific Exchange (SciEx), organized by Thomas A. Tompkins, Ph.D., Research Director at the Rosell® Institute from Microbiome and Probiotics by Lallemand.
This year presentations sparked conversations about the Microbe-Mitochondrion axis. More precisely about the host mitochondria as a moderator of probiotic mechanisms of action and the implication for metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
“The great thing about the Scientific Exchange event is that it brings together researchers with different perspectives, but with novel data suggesting overlapping commonalities. It allows for open communication and the potential to establish new collaborations. This year we focused on a segment of probiotic science that has previously been undescribed; the ramifications for our future research is enormous.” say Dr Tompkins with enthusiasm.
Dr Tompkins continues: “We would like to express our appreciation to our presenters, from different Canadian research centers that have presented their laboratory activities and latest, promising results.”
- Ryan Mailloux, Ph.D. from McGill University, Montreal, presented: How should we talk about mitochondria? They are not just powerhouses anymore. His talk was about the various roles of mitochondria and how today’s knowledge does not only limit these organelles as being the powerhouses of the cell.
- Peter Hawrysh, Ph.D., post-doctoral fellow in the McQuibban lab at the University of Toronto, presented: Identifying probiotics that modulate mitophagy in models of mitochondrial dysfunction. He summarized his work on the identification of probiotics that modulate mitophagy in models of mitochondrial dysfunction, suggesting these probiotics could be used to offset the progression of neurogenerative disorders.
- Michael Jeffrey, Ph.D. candidate at the Green-Johnson lab, at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology for his presentation: Temporal transcriptional, metabolic, and functional re-programming of THP-1 macrophages by the Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus R0011 secretome. He provided potential mechanistic actions through which L. rhamnosus Rosell®-11 secretome can induce immunometabolic and phenotypic changes within cells of the immune system.
- Stuart Foster M.Sc. from the Tompkins lab, Lallemand Health Solutions, presented: Probiotics mitigate Amyloid Beta toxicity in C. elegans via distinct mechanisms: a role for a specific probiotic strain and host lipid metabolism in an Alzheimer model. In his research he explores the potential benefits of probiotics mitigating amyloid beta toxicity in C. elegans, providing a rationale that probiotics, and a particular probiotic strain from Lallemand Health Solutions, could delay or slow down Alzheimer’s disease.
- Audrey Labarre, Ph.D. candidate, Parker lab, Université de Montréal, presented: A specific probiotic strain suppresses age-dependent neurodegeneration via mitochondrial β-oxidation, about amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) models and the impact of this probiotic. Her research focuses on the impact of a disrupted lipid metabolism on neurodegeneration in an ALS model, and how the probiotic supplementation in C. elegans restored lipid homeostasis and energy balance, leading to neuroprotective effects.
- Jane Shearer, Ph.D., from the University of Calgary, presented: Ketogenic Diet Reveals Metabolic Fine-Tuning by Probiotics in a Rodent Model of Childhood Epilepsy about infantile spasms and epilepsy and the impact of probiotic strains. She explained how probiotics may serve as a novel approach to ameliorate liver damages caused by ketogenic diet intervention, a diet widely used to help treat childhood epilepsy.
About the Rosell® Institute for Microbiome and Probiotics by Lallemand
Lallemand Health Solutions’ research and development center is located at the National Research Council of Canada in Montreal and develops partnerships with key scientific experts to study the human microbiome and how probiotic supplements can be used as a means to improve or maintain health in specific populations or health segments. The research team has issued over 330 publications including 160 clinical studies. www.rosellinstitutelallemand.com
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Lallemand Health Solutions: Marilou Luneau, Content Manager mluneau@lallemand.com
