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“LOCK”ing up allergic responses with a Polish probiotic

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 13, pages 263–264 (2016)Cite this article

Three relatively new lactobacillus species that were developed from fecal samples of a 26-year-old woman (LOCK0900), a 6-year-old girl (LOCK0908), and a 5-year-old boy (LOCK0919) have been studied by Kozakova et al.1 in an attempt to define the mechanism by which the probiotics modify the allergic response. The researchers colonized germ-free (GF) mice with individual or combined strains and demonstrated a reduced allergic response to intraperitoneal sensitization with birch pollen allergen by evaluating intestinal lavage IgA, IgE, and IgG1/G2 levels. Increased Th1 versus Th2 cytokine responses in splenic and mesenteric lymph node cells were also observed. In addition, the ultrastructural appearance of the ileal tight junctions appeared to be improved with increased immunoreactive ZO-1 in the intestinal homogenate, suggesting an impact on the gut epithelial barrier.

It is interesting that three strains of lactobacilli activated completely different pattern recognition pathways; L. rhamnosus strain LOCK0900 interacted with membrane TLR2, and L. casei LOCK0919 interacted with cytosolic NOD2, while L. rhamnosus LOCK0908 interacted with neither of the above pattern recognition receptors. However, LOCK0908 could stimulate production of IL12p70 and IL-10 by an unknown mechanism. Clearly, the cytokine production by stimulated bone marrow dendritic cells is not species (lactobacillus)-specific but rather strain-specific. Our group has also found that different strains of L. reuteri differentially activated (or repressed) cytokine production in cultured cells.2 We studied intestinal epithelial cells, whereas Kozakova et al. studied bone marrow dendritic cells.

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References

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  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Yuying Liu & J Marc Rhoads

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  1. Yuying Liu
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Correspondence to J Marc Rhoads.

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Liu, Y., Marc Rhoads, J. “LOCK”ing up allergic responses with a Polish probiotic. Cell Mol Immunol 13, 263–264 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2015.15

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