Lactobacillus crispatus strain SJ‐3C‐US induces human dendritic cells (DCs) maturation and confers an anti‐inflammatory phenotype to DCs

Lactobacillus crispatus is one of the most predominant species in the healthy vagina microbiota. Nevertheless, the interactions between this commensal bacterium and the immune system are largely unknown. Given the importance of the dendritic cells (DCs) in the regulation of the immunity, this study was performed to elucidate the influence of vaginal isolated L. crispatus SJ‐3C‐US from healthy Iranian women on DCs, either directly by exposure of DCs to ultraviolet‐inactivated (UVI) and heat‐killed (HK) L. crispatus SJ‐3C‐US or indirectly to its cell‐free supernatant (CFS), and the outcomes of immune response. In this work we showed that L. crispatus SJ‐3C‐US induced strong dose‐dependent activation of dendritic cells and production of high levels of IL‐10, whereas IL‐12p70 production was induced at low level in an inverse dose‐dependent manner. This stimulation skewed T cells polarization toward CD4⁺ CD25⁺ FOXP3⁺ Treg cells and production of IL‐10 in a dose‐dependent manner in mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) test. The mode of bacterial inactivation did not affect the DCs activation pattern, upon encounter with L. crispatus SJ‐3C‐US. Moreover, while DCs stimulated with CFS showed moderate phenotypic maturation and IL‐10 production, it failed to skew T cells polarization toward CD4⁺ CD25⁺ FOXP3⁺ regulatory T cells (Treg) and production of IL‐10. This study showed that L. crispatus SJ‐3C‐US confers an anti‐inflammatory phenotype to DCs through up‐regulation of anti‐inflammatory/regulatory IL‐10 cytokine production and induction of CD4⁺ CD25⁺ FOXP3⁺ T cells at optimal dosage. Our findings suggest that L. crispatus SJ‐3C‐US could be a potent candidate as protective probiotic against human immune‐mediated pathologies, such as chronic inflammation, vaginitis or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).     

Effect of Probiotic Supplement on Cytokine Levels in HIV-Infected Individuals: A Preliminary Study

Inflammation persists in patients infected with HIV. Reduction of inflammatory cytokines and microbial translocation might be one way that this could be managed. Purpose: The anti-inflammatory properties of certain probiotic strains prompted us to investigate whether a probiotic could reduce the inflammatory index of HIV-infected patients. Methods: The study involved 30 HIV+ males on antiretroviral therapy, who were given one bottle of fermented milk Yakult Light^® containing Lactobacillus casei Shirota (LcS) twice a day for four weeks. Results: The probiotic LcS was associated with an increase of T lymphocytes and a significant increase of CD56+ cells (p = 0.04). There was also a significant decrease of mRNA levels of TGFβ, IL-10 and IL-12 (p < 0.001) and IL-1β expression (p < 0.001) and an increase of serum IL-23 (p = 0.03). In addition, decreased inflammation and cardiovascular risk were observed, as shown by a reduction of cystatin C (p < 0.001). Conclusions: These data provide preliminary evidence that probiotic supplementation may modulate certain immunological parameters and some of the cytokines that were analyzed. Thus, we propose that LcS may be an inexpensive and practical strategy to support the immune function of HIV+ patients.     

Effects of a synbiotic on symptoms,and daily functioning in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – A double-blind randomized controlled trial

Some prebiotics and probiotics have been proposed to improve psychiatric symptoms in children with autism. However, few studies were placebo-controlled, and there is no study on persons with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. Our aim was to study effects of Synbiotic 2000 on psychiatric symptoms and functioning in children and adults with ADHD without an autism diagnosis. Children and adults (n = 182) with an ADHD diagnosis completed the nine weeks randomized double-blind parallel placebo-controlled trial examining effects of Synbiotic 2000 on the primary endpoints ADHD symptoms, autism symptoms and daily functioning, and the secondary endpoint emotion regulation, measured using the questionnaires SNAP-IV, ASRS, WFIRS, SCQ, AQ and DERS-16. Levels at baseline of plasma C-reactive protein and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), central to leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion facilitating inflammatory responses in tissues, were measured using Meso Scale Discovery. Synbiotic 2000 and placebo improved ADHD symptoms equally well, and neither active treatment nor placebo had any statistically significant effect on functioning or sub-diagnostic autism symptoms. However, Synbiotic 2000, specifically, reduced sub-diagnostic autism symptoms in the domain restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviors in children, and improved emotion regulation in the domain of goal-directed behavior in adults. In children with elevated sVCAM-1 levels at baseline as well as in children without ADHD medication, Synbiotic 2000 reduced both the total score of autism symptoms, and the restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. In adults with elevated sVCAM-1 at baseline, Synbiotic 2000 significantly improved emotion regulation, both the total score and four of the five subdomains. To conclude, while no definite Synbiotic 2000-specific effect was detected, the analysis of those with elevated plasma sVCAM-1 levels proposed a reduction of autism symptoms in children and an improvement of emotion regulation in adults with ADHD.Trial registration number: ISRCTN57795429.     

Catalase-mimetic gold nanoparticles inhibit the antagonistic action of Lactobacillus gasseri toward foodborne enteric pathogens in associative cultures

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been previously shown to induce gut dysbiosis during colitis in mice, but the underlying mechanism is not clear yet. Here, we evaluated the effects of AuNPs (5?nm diameter, coated with tannic acid, polyvinylpyrrolidone or citrate) on H₂O₂ accumulation and pathogen antagonization by an intestinal strain of Lactobacillus gasseri under aerobic cultural conditions. AuNPs (0.65?μg/mL) reduced over 50% of H₂O₂ accumulation by L. gasseri, and significantly inhibited the antagonistic action of L. gasseri on growth of four foodborne enteric pathogens, i.e. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus in associative cultures.     

蒙脱石散联合双歧杆菌乳杆菌三联活菌片治疗小儿急性腹泻的临床分析

目的探讨蒙脱石散联合双歧杆菌乳杆菌三联活菌片治疗小儿急性腹泻的临床疗效。方法选取我院自2013年2月~2014年2月接收的80例小儿急性腹泻患儿,随机分为观察组和对照组,每组40例,对照组行单纯蒙脱石散治疗,观察组则行蒙脱石散联合双歧杆菌乳杆菌三联活菌片治疗,比较两组患儿的临床疗效。结果 两组患儿治疗总有效率、退热时间、呕吐消失时间、腹痛消失时间、大便正常时间等比较均有显著性差异(P0.05)。结论 给予急性腹泻患儿蒙脱石散联合双歧杆菌乳杆菌三联活菌片治疗可有效的提高治疗效果,改善患儿临床症状。