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Chen et al. Microbiome Res Rep 2025;4:6 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/mrr.2024.38 Page 9 of 14

Figure 6. The effect of L. johnsonii CCFM1376 on the conjugated bile acid composition in the enterohepatic circulation of
hypercholesterolemic mice. (A) Conjugated bile acid composition in the liver; (B) conjugated bile acid composition in the serum; (C)
conjugated bile acid composition in the ileum; (D) conjugated bile acid composition in the feces. Groups with the same lowercase letter
did not exhibit significant differences, whereas those with different letters indicated significant differences (P < 0.05).

signaling gene SHP [P < 0.05, Figure 7A-D]. Concurrently, the CCFM1376 group significantly upregulated
the relative expression level of CYP7A1 [P <0.05, Figure 7E].

DISCUSSION
In this study, we evaluated the alleviating effect of L. johnsonii CCFM1376, which possesses high BSH
activity, on hypercholesterolemia in mice, and explored the impact of the bile acid metabolic pathway on
this effect. The results indicated that L. johnsonii CCFM1376, with its high BSH activity, notably decreased
serum TC and LDL-C levels in hypercholesterolemic mice, thus exerting a mitigating effect on
hypercholesterolemia. Additionally, the bile acid composition in the liver and intestine of mice
supplemented with L. johnsonii CCFM1376 was altered, and correspondingly, the expression profile of
genes related to bile acid synthesis mediated by the FXR pathway was also modified.