Figure 4.

Lactobacilli reduce toxicity and apical-to-basolateral translocation of Pb and Cd in a Caco-2 cell model of the intestine epithelium. Flow cytometry was used to quantify viability of Cd-exposed Caco-2 cells (A-D) Histogram populations of the Caco-2 cells after incubation with the metals Pb or Cd, with or without pre-treatment with LGR-1. (E) Visible representation of gating used to distinguish and quantify live and dead populations of Caco-2 cells. A significant separation occurs between live and dead cells allowing for accurate labelling (F-G). To determine effect of LGR-1 supplementation on intestinal absorption of (F) Pb and (G) Cd, a Caco-2 Transwell model of the intestinal epithelium was used. Caco-2 apical and basolateral measurements of Pb and Cd were performed in biological triplicate (n = 3 for each treatment group). Error bars represent ± standard error. * p > 0.05. ns = not significant.