Lactobacillus plantarum may prevent cholesterol gallstone formation by restoring gallbladder motility through preserving Cajal-like cells in mice.
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Abdominal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 710061, P. R. China.
- 2National Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Precision Surgery and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 710061, P. R. China.
- 3Department of Abdominal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 710061, P. R. China. [email protected].
- 4National Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Precision Surgery and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 West Yanta Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 710061, P. R. China. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Gallstone disease is closely linked to gallbladder dysmotility and gut microbiota dysbiosis; however, the specific role of Lactobacillus depletion in this pathogenesis remains unclear. This study investigated whether lithogenic diet (LD) induced cholesterol gallstone formation is associated with Lactobacillus deficiency and evaluated the potential of Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) supplementation to mitigate stone formation by restoring gallbladder motility.Methods and results
Here, we used a murine cholelithiasis model using C57BL/6 mice fed an HFD to characterize whether gallstone formation in relation to gut microbiota dysbiosis and gallbladder dysmotility. Lactobacillus depletion was identified as a hallmark of gallstone formation, which was concomitant with gallbladder dysmotility. To target this deficit, L. plantarum was administered via daily gavage in an intervention cohort. L. plantarum supplementation significantly inhibited stone formation and improved CCK-induced gallbladder emptying. Histologically, probiotic treatment preserved gallbladder wall architecture and recovered α-SMA and interstitial Cajal-like cells (CLCs) expression levels compared to controls. These findings suggest that Lactobacillus deficiency may contribute to LD-induced cholelithiasis by impairing gallbladder motility, and that L. plantarum supplementation effectively prevents stone formation by restoring the gut microbiota-gallbladder motility axis.Conclusion
LD-induced gallstone formation is characterized by Lactobacillus depletion and gallbladder dysmotility driven by the loss of smooth muscle integrity and CLCs. Supplementation with L. plantarum effectively prevents gallstone formation likely by restoring impaired gallbladder contractility. These findings highlight Lactobacillus as a promising non-invasive therapeutic strategy to prevent gallstones.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026lactobacillus,
title = {{Lactobacillus plantarum may prevent cholesterol gallstone formation by restoring gallbladder motility through preserving Cajal-like cells in mice.}},
author = {Lei Wang and Xiao-Yu Liu and Yi-Jie Sun and Ze-Zhou Yang and Ming-E Wu and Meng-Run Kang and Zhen-Kun Wang and Jia-Wei Yu and Yong Wan and Tao Li and Ying-Min Yao and Yi Lv and Qiang Lu},
journal = {BMC microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12866-026-05453-2},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42850587},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Lactobacillus plantarum may prevent cholesterol gallstone formation by restoring gallbladder motility through preserving Cajal-like cells in mice.
AU - Lei Wang
AU - Xiao-Yu Liu
AU - Yi-Jie Sun
AU - Ze-Zhou Yang
AU - Ming-E Wu
AU - Meng-Run Kang
AU - Zhen-Kun Wang
AU - Jia-Wei Yu
AU - Yong Wan
AU - Tao Li
AU - Ying-Min Yao
AU - Yi Lv
AU - Qiang Lu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/24
JO - BMC microbiology
DO - 10.1186/s12866-026-05453-2
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42850587
AB - Background Gallstone disease is closely linked to gallbladder dysmotility and gut microbiota dysbiosis; however, the specific role of Lactobacillus depletion in this pathogenesis remains unclear. This study investigated whether lithogenic diet (LD) induced cholesterol gallstone formation is associated with Lactobacillus deficiency and evaluated the potential of Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) supplementation to mitigate stone formation by restoring gallbladder motility.Methods and results Here, we used a murine cholelithiasis model using C57BL/6 mice fed an HFD to characterize whether gallstone formation in relation to gut microbiota dysbiosis and gallbladder dysmotility. Lactobacillus depletion was identified as a hallmark of gallstone formation, which was concomitant with gallbladder dysmotility. To target this deficit, L. plantarum was administered via daily gavage in an intervention cohort. L. plantarum supplementation significantly inhibited stone formation and improved CCK-induced gallbladder emptying. Histologically, probiotic treatment preserved gallbladder wall architecture and recovered α-SMA and interstitial Cajal-like cells (CLCs) expression levels compared to controls. These findings suggest that Lactobacillus deficiency may contribute to LD-induced cholelithiasis by impairing gallbladder motility, and that L. plantarum supplementation effectively prevents stone formation by restoring the gut microbiota-gallbladder motility axis.Conclusion LD-induced gallstone formation is characterized by Lactobacillus depletion and gallbladder dysmotility driven by the loss of smooth muscle integrity and CLCs. Supplementation with L. plantarum effectively prevents gallstone formation likely by restoring impaired gallbladder contractility. These findings highlight Lactobacillus as a promising non-invasive therapeutic strategy to prevent gallstones.
SN - 1471-2180
ER -