Orally administered Lactobacillus plantarum reduces pro-inflammatory interleukin secretion in sera from Listeria monocytogenes infected mice

• Published in: British journal of nutrition Vol. 99; no. 4; pp. 819 - 825
• Main Authors: Puertollano, Elena, Puertollano, María A., Cruz-Chamorro, Lidia, Álvarez de Cienfuegos, Gerardo, Ruiz-Bravo, Alfonso, de Pablo, Manuel A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.04.2008
• Subjects: animal models; animal pathogenic bacteria; Animals; Bacteria; Biological and medical sciences; blood chemistry; Clinical medicine; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; disease resistance; disease severity; dosage; E coli; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Food products; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human subjects; Hydrochloric acid; immunomodulators; inflammation; Inflammatory bowel disease; interleukin-1; Interleukin-1beta - blood; interleukin-6; Interleukin-6 - blood; Lactobacillus plantarum; Listeria monocytogenes; Listeriosis - immunology; Listeriosis - therapy; Liver - immunology; Liver - microbiology; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Microbiology; Models, Animal; mortality; Nutrition research; oral administration; Organisms; Pro-inflammatory cytokines; Probiotics; Probiotics - administration & dosage; Spleen - immunology; Spleen - microbiology; tumor necrosis factor-alpha; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - blood; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Listeria monocytogenes; Pro-inflammatory cytokines; Probiotics; Lactobacillus plantarum; Probiotic; Secretion; Interleukin; Rodentia; Cytokine; Oral administration; Probiotics: Lactobacillus plantarum: Listeria monocytogenes: Pro-inflammatory cytokines; Infection; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Listeria; Mouse; Animal; Bacteria; Lactobacillaceae; Serum; Lactobacillus
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114507832533

Lactic acid bacteria have traditionally been thought to have immunomodulating effects. To verify this property, Lactobacillus plantarum was orally administered to mice (5 × 107 colony forming units (c.f.u.)), prior to infection with Listeria monocytogenes in order to evaluate the host resistance against an infectious micro-organism and to better define the influence of L. plantarum on such responses. Balb/c mice were treated daily with L. plantarum or received PBS (sham-treated mice as controls) for 4 weeks. Subsequently, mice were intravenously infected with a clinical isolate of L. monocytogenes. Our study revealed that the administration of L. plantarum did not significantly increase the survival (P = 0·13) of mice (fifteen in each group) after L. monocytogenes infection (106 c.f.u./ml), whereas a sub-lethal dose of L. monocytogenes (105 c.f.u./ml) was eliminated from liver and spleen 5 d after the challenge in both L. plantarum- and sham-treated mice (n 5). Nevertheless, the levels of IL-1β and IL-6 from sera of orally administered L. plantarum were drastically reduced at 0, 4 (P < 0·01) and 6 d after L. monocytogenes infection, whereas TNF-α production was unaltered. In conclusion, administration of L. plantarum reduced pro-inflammatory IL production after challenge with L. monocytogenes, although it did not significantly impact the survival of mice. We speculate that L. plantarum could exert anti-inflammatory effects, which may represent an important model to reduce inflammatory disorders. Therefore, further studies in human subjects should determine the role of L. plantarum as an immunomodulatory micro-organism and its relationship in the host protection to pathogens.