Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis BX-BC08 modulates gut microbiota and secretes alpha-Ketoglutaric acid to alleviate MC903-induced atopic dermatitis

  • J Transl Med. 2025 Jul 10;23(1):768. doi: 10.1186/s12967-025-06769-9.
Jiamin Zhao  #  1  2 ,  Ling Kui  #  3 ,  Jinqun Huang  2  4 ,  Jie Deng  1 ,  Lingjun Liu  1 ,  Chenwei Zhu  1 ,  Yanqiang Shi  1 ,  Chengyi Li  1 ,  Yue Xiao  5 ,  Jinshi Yu  3 ,  Qing Li  6 ,  Bin Yang  7 ,  Bingfeng Leng  8  9 ,  Hung Chan  10  11
Affiliations
  • 1. Dermatology Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
  • 2. Hong Kong Rising Biotechnology Co. Limited, Hong Kong, China.
  • 3. Dermatology Department & Medical Cosmetology Department, Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
  • 4. Shenzhen Beichen Biotech Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, China.
  • 5. Department of Dermatology and Venereology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
  • 6. Dermatology Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
  • 7. Dermatology Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
  • 8. Hong Kong Rising Biotechnology Co. Limited, Hong Kong, China. [email protected].
  • 9. Shenzhen Beichen Biotech Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, China. [email protected].
  • 10. Dermatology Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
  • 11. University of California San Diego, San Diego. La Jolla, CA, USA. [email protected].
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 40640914 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-025-06769-9
Abstract

Objective: Bifidobacterium is known to be depleted in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). This study aims to investigate the potential prophylactic effects of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BX-BC08 (B. lactis BX-BC08) in a murine model of AD.

Design: The immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects of BX-BC08 were evaluated in a MC903-induced AD mouse model. Gut microbiota composition was analyzed by metagenomic Sequencing, while high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was employed to identify anti-inflammatory molecules produced by B. lactis BX-BC08.

Results: BX-BC08 significantly attenuated pro-inflammatory responses, scaling and swelling in the MC903-induced AD like murine model compared to controls. Fecal microbial profiling revealed an enrichment of probiotics and a reduction of pro-inflammatory bacteria in BX-BC08 treated mice. Metabolic analysis of BX-BC08 bacteria culture supernatant and treated mice identified a significant enrichment of alpha-Ketoglutaric acid (AKG). Functional validation in the murine AD model demonstrated that AKG strongly suppressed T helper 2 (Th2)-driven pro-inflammatory responses.

Conclusion: BX-BC08 mitigates AD-like inflammation by producing the anti-inflammatory metabolite AKG. BX-BC08 could serve as a novel prophylactic agent for AD prevention.

Keywords
Bifidobacterium; Atopic dermatitis (AD); BX-BC08; Probiotics; Skin-gut axis; alpha-Ketoglutaric acid (AKG).
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