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

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 7; no. 10; pp. 8335 - 8347
• Main Authors: Falasca, Katia, Vecchiet, Jacopo, Ucciferri, Claudio, Di Nicola, Marta, D'Angelo, Chiara, Reale, Marcella
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28.09.2015; MDPI
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Anti-Retroviral Agents - therapeutic use; CD56 Antigen - analysis; Cultured Milk Products; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Dietary supplements; Drug therapy; HIV; HIV Infections - therapy; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; inflammation; Interleukin-10 - blood; Interleukin-10 - genetics; Interleukin-12 - blood; Interleukin-12 - genetics; Lactobacillus casei; Lactobacillus casei Shirota; Lentivirus; Lymphocyte Count; Male; nutrition; Nutrition research; Probiotics; Probiotics - administration & dosage; Retroviridae; RNA, Messenger - blood; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Transforming Growth Factor beta - blood; Transforming Growth Factor beta - genetics; Italy; dietary supplements; AIDS; nutrition; ART; Lactobacillus casei Shirota; inflammation
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu7105396

Inflammation persists in patients infected with HIV. Reduction of inflammatory cytokines and microbial translocation might be one way that this could be managed. The anti-inflammatory properties of certain probiotic strains prompted us to investigate whether a probiotic could reduce the inflammatory index of HIV-infected patients. 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. 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). 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.