Page 102 - Read Online

Page 6 of 14 Chen et al. Microbiome Res Rep 2025;4:6 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/mrr.2024.38

Figure 2. The effect of L. johnsonii CCFM1376 on the serum biochemical parameters of hypercholesterolemic mice. (A) TC; (B) LDL-C;
(C) TG; (D) HDL-C. Groups with the same lowercase letter did not exhibit significant differences, whereas those with different letters
indicated significant differences (P < 0.05). TC: Total cholesterol; LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TG: triglyceride; HDL-C:
high density lipoproteins cholesterol.

(P < 0.05). However, L. johnsonii QJSWX160M2 did not have these effects. Meanwhile, no considerable
changes were noted in TG levels observed across all groups [P < 0.05, Figure 2C]. Moreover, mice in the
L. johnsonii CCFM1376 group demonstrated significantly higher levels of HDL-C in comparison with the
model group [P < 0.05, Figure 2D].

The impact of L. johnsonii CCFM1376 on hepatic lipid deposition in hypercholesterolemic mice
To determine whether the supplementation of L. johnsonii CCFM1376 can alleviate liver injury caused by a
high-cholesterol diet, the levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C in the liver were assessed. In contrast with the
control group, the model group exhibited notably higher levels of liver TC and LDL-C [P < 0.05, Figure 3A
and B]. However, the supplementation with L. johnsonii CCFM1376 significantly reduced the levels of TC
and LDL-C in the livers of mice with hypercholesterolemia. There were no significant differences in liver
TG levels among the groups [P < 0.05, Figure 3C]. The application of hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) dye to liver
slices showed that in comparison with the control group, the mice in the model group showed more central
venous and portal venous congestion in the central areas of the hepatic lobules, surrounded by hepatocytes