<i>Clostridium butyricum</i> and Its Culture Supernatant Alleviate the <i>Escherichia coli</i>-Induced Endometritis in Mice.

Endometritis is a disease with a high incidence in dairy cows and causes great economic loss to milk production. This study examined the therapeutic effects of <i>Clostridium butyricum</i> and its culture supernatant on <i>Escherichia coli</i>-induced endometritis in mice. The results showed that <i>Clostridium butyricum</i> and its culture supernatant effectively suppressed inflammatory responses of uterine tissues, such as uterine morphological changes, pathological damage, and the production of inflammatory cytokines. <i>Clostridium butyricum</i> and its culture supernatant significantly decreased uterine microbial loads. In addition, <i>Clostridium butyricum</i> and its culture supernatant restored reproduction outcomes in <i>Escherichia coli</i>-induced endometritis mice. Western blot analysis showed that <i>Clostridium butyricum</i> and its culture supernatant suppressed the NF-κB signaling pathway. Therefore, the anti-inflammatory mechanism of <i>Clostridium butyricum</i> and its culture supernatant may occur through the anti-bacterial activity and regulation of the expression of NF-κB in the uterus. The anti-inflammatory effect of the culture supernatant of <i>C. butyricum</i> was slightly better than that of viable <i>C. butyricum</i>. Therefore, our experimental results showed that <i>Clostridium butyricum</i> culture supernatant may be an effective drug for treating endometritis.