Potentially probiotic bacteria induce efficient maturation but differential cytokine production in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells

AIM： To analyze the ability of nine different potentially probiotic bacteria to induce maturation and cytokine production in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells （moDCs）. METHODS： Cytokine production and maturation of moDCs in response to bacterial stimulation was analyzed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and flow cytometric analysis （FACS）, respectively. The kinetics of mRNA expression of cytokine genes was determined by Northern blotting. The involvement of different signaling pathways in cytokine gene expression was studied using specific pharmacological signaling inhibitors. RESULTS： All studied bacteria induced the maturation of moDCs in a dose-dependent manner. More detailed analysis with S. thermophilus THS, B. breve Bb99, and L. lactis subsp, cremoris ARH74 indicated that these bacteria induced the expression of moDC maturation markers HLA class Ⅱ and CD86 as efficiently as pathogenic bacteria. However, these bacteria differed in their ability to induce moDC cytokine gene expression. S. thermophilus induced the expression of pro-inflammatory （TNF-α, IL-12, IL-6, and CCL20） and Thl type （IL-12 and IFN-γ） cytokines, while B. breve and L. lactis were also potent inducers of antiinflammatory IL-10. Mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） p38, phosphatidylinositol 3 （PI3） kinase, and nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB） signaling pathways were shown to be involved in bacteria-induced cytokine production. CONCLUSION： Our results indicate that potentially probiotic bacteria are able to induce moDC maturation, but their ability to induce cytokine gene expression varies significantly from one bacterial strain to another,

Combined probiotic bacteria promotes intestinal epithelial barrier function in interleukin-10-gene-deficient mice

AIM: To investigate the protective effects of combinations of probiotic (Bifico) on interleukin (IL)-10-gene-deficient (IL-10 KO) mice and Caco-2 cell monolayers.

Improving the Health of Teeth in Cats and Dogs with Live Probiotic Bacteria

Background: Periodontal infections are the most common disease of cats and dogs. About 70% - 80% of them suffer from these infections during their lifetime. These infections occur in two forms, gingivitis and periodontitis. Gingivitis is a reversible inflammation of the gingiva which can be cured. As with humans, the harmful bacteria can cause infections also in organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys. Besides veterinary treatment, also the owner’s everyday care is essential. Objective: The aim of the study was to develop and clinically test easy home care probiotic product for cats’ and dogs’ oral health. Methods: Nine cats and thirteen dogs were given a combination of selected bacteria Streptococcus thermophilus SP4, Lactobacillus plantarum 14D and Lactobacillus rhamnosus SP1 (Petguide powder) in powder form daily for four weeks on top of the dry feed. Microbiological samples were taken before and after the intervention from each dog and cat. The samples were analyzed with flow cytometric analysis using Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium sp. as indicators for oral health. Results: The home care treatment with these specific, live probiotic bacteria was shown to prevent the growth of infectious bacteria within four weeks. Petguide probiotic powder reduced the relative abundance of infectious microbes significantly (p = 0.005) in cats and dogs. Conclusion: The results suggest that the probiotic product with three live strains of probiotic bacteria prevents the growth of infectious bacterial species that are known to cause infections in pets’ mouths. Therefore, this probiotic combination could be used to improve the oral health of pets and increase their quality of life.

Effects of dietary supplementation with tropical microfungi Mucor circinelloides and Trichoderma harzianum powder on growth performance,bacterial communities,and the biomass nutritional profile of white shrimp grow-out culture(Litopenaeus vannamei)

Microfungi have been explored further as supplement constituents in shrimp culture due to their rich protein,lipid,essential amino acids,fatty acids,and various bioactive compounds.The researchers have evaluated the effects of two microfungi powders(Mucor circinelloides and Trichoderma harzianum)as feed supplements on growth performance,bacterial communities,and the biomass nutritional profile of white shrimp(Litopenaeus vannamei).The results showed that commercial/artificial feed(Feng-Li)with supplementation microfungi powder had a different effect on white shrimp growth performance than control after 62 days of the grow-out period.Supplementation with 1.5%M.circinelloides powder(M-2)could improve the growth performance of white shrimp,especially the survival rate(81.33%),final body weight(5.21 g),and shrimp biomass(211.35 g).In contrast,supplementation with 1.5%T.harzianum powder(T-2)did not improve the growth performance of white shrimp compared to control(p>0.05).Furthermore,it also affected the profile of the bacterial community in culture water as well as in shrimp intestines.Supplementation with both microfungi could reduce the total number of bacteria in culture water at the end of the experiment,where the lowest number was obtained in treatment T-2(3.9×10^(5)CFU/mL),followed by M-2(9.9×10^(5)CFU/mL)and control(4.4×10^(6)CFU/mL).In the culture water,20 isolates of culturable bacteria were found during the trial,with the dominant bacteria in M-2:Bacillus cereus,Bacillus velezensis,Gordonia polyisoprenivorans,T-2:Acinetobacter sp.,Gordonia polyisoprenivorans,Micrococcus luteus.Based on average well colour development(AWCD),the highest bacterial activity was in the M-2(0.297-0.707),followed by T-2(0.226-0.717)and control(0.094-0.694).The highest substrate group utilised in M-2 and T-2 were polymers(0.896 and 1.348)and control:amines(0.100).The highest Shannon diversity index was obtained in the M-2(2.508),followed by control(2.286)and the T-2(2.157).As many as 11 isolates of culturable bacteria were found in the shrimp intestine,with dominant bacteria in M-2:Bacillus velezensis,Micrococcus luteus,Bacillus cereus,T-2:Bacillus velezensis,Micrococcus sp.2,Demequina activiva.The highest bacterial activity was in M-2(2.259),followed by control(2.020)and T-2(0.050).The highest substrate group utilisation was in M-2:polymers(2.564),T-2:carbohydrates(0.094),and control:polymers(2.185).The highest Shannon diversity index was in the M-2(3.234),followed by control(3.230)and the T-2(0.751).In addition,1.5%M.circinelloides and T.harzianum supplementation increased white shrimp muscle protein content up to 79.21%and 80.40%,respectively,compared to control(76.73%).In conclusion,using Mucor circinelloides powder as a feed supplement can improve the growth performance of white shrimp,increase the functional/probiotic bacteria:B.cereus and B.velezensis in cultur and shrimp’s intestine,and increase the protein content in shrimp muscle tissue.However,more in-depth research is needed,especially on anti-nutritional compounds from fungi that affect shrimp growth.

Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus downregulates FCER1 and HRH4 expression in human mast cells

AIM:To investigate the effects of four probiotic bacteria and their combination on human mast cell gene expression using microarray analysis.METHODS:Human peripheral-blood-derived mast cells were stimulated with Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L.rhamnosus) GG (LGG),L.rhamnosus Lc705 (Lc705),Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp.shermanii JS (PJS) and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp.lactis Bb12 (Bb12) and their combination for 3 or 24 h,and were subjected to global microarray analysis using an Affymetrix GeneChip Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 Array.The gene expression differences between unstimulated and bacteria-stimulated samples were further analyzed with GOrilla Gene Enrichment Analysis and Visualization Tool and MeV Multiexperiment Viewer-tool.RESULTS:LGG and Lc705 were observed to suppress genes that encoded allergy-related high-affinity IgE receptor subunits α and γ (FCER1A and FCER1G,respectively) and histamine H4 receptor.LGG,Lc705 and the combination of four probiotics had the strongest effect on the expression of genes involved in mast cell immune system regulation,and on several genes that encoded proteins with a pro-inflammatory impact,such as interleukin (IL)-8 and tumour necrosis factor alpha.Also genes that encoded proteins with anti-inflammatory functions,such as IL-10,were upregulated.CONCLUSION:Certain probiotic bacteria might diminish mast cell allergy-related activation by downregulation of the expression of high-affinity IgE and histamine receptor genes,and by inducing a pro-inflammatory response.

Production of High Quality Functional Labneh Cheese Using Exopolysaccharides Producing Encapsulated Lactobacillus Bulgaricus

Production of polysaccharides by lactic acid bacteria is vital and its technology is very important, too in dairy study. The selection ofexpolysaccharides producing encapsulated Lactobacillus bulgaricus in alginate gel and the factors affecting the production of polysaccharides such as time, temperature, pH and the growth with Streptococcus thermophilus were studied, pH 5.5 and temperature 35℃/18hr were found to be optimal for exopolysaccharides production by encapsulated L. bulgaricus and free culture yielding 600 mg/L and 380 mg/L respectively. Co-culturing L. bulgaricus with S. thermophilus increased exopolysaccharides production at 35 ℃/18hr to 660 mg/L by encapsulated cells and 400 mg/L by free culture. Results of this study were applied in the manufacture of Labneh cheese vitally containing probiotic species ofL. acidophilus, L. gasseri, L. johnsonii and protection of these bacteria by polysaeeharide produced encapsulated L. bulgaricus. The use of exopolysaccharides producing encapsulated L. bulgaricus and probiotic bacteria can provide acceptable quality to functional Labneh. This product can be used as therapeutic and diabetic milk product with highly acceptable qualities. It is noted that all of the results are the means of triplicate experiments.

Techno-functionality of fisetin-enriched yoghurt fermented with Lactobacillus acidophilus bio-capsules produced via osmoporation

Osmoporation is a novel encapsulation approach for bioactive compounds based on the osmoresistance mechanisms of microbial cells.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first study investigating the production of fisetin-enriched yoghurt using Lactobacillus acidophilus-based bio-capsules via osmoporation as the starter culture.Results showed that the milk acidification with fisetin-loaded L.acidophilus progressed at a slower pace due to complex mechanisms induced by osmopo-ration and internalized fisetin.Milk fermentation using fisetin bio-capsules reached a maximum acidification rate of 0.18 pH units/h after 23 h and pH 4.6 was achieved after 32 h.Besides,the antioxidant activity of yoghurts produced with fisetin bio-capsules did not change during cold storage,while the antioxidant activity of yoghurt produced with non-encapsulated fisetin was reduced by 2.5-fold after 28 days.Overall,this study shows that fisetin osmoporation using L.acidophilus is a versatile encapsulation bioprocess that enables the delivery of preserved phytoactives into fermented foods like yoghurt.This strategy has the potential to be extended to other applications in the dairy industry using lactic acid bacteria as both the encapsulation matrix and fermentation agent.