Basic Research
Copyright ©2007 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2007; 13(2): 236-243
Published online Jan 14, 2007. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i2.236
Correlation between in vitro and in vivo immunomodulatory properties of lactic acid bacteria
Benoit Foligne, Sophie Nutten, Corinne Grangette, Véronique Dennin, Denise Goudercourt, Sabine Poiret, Joelle Dewulf, Dominique Brassart, Annick Mercenier, Bruno Pot
Benoit Foligne, Sophie Nutten, Corinne Grangette, Véronique Dennin, Denise Goudercourt, Sabine Poiret, Joelle Dewulf, Annick Mercenier, Bruno Pot, Bactéries Lactiques et Immunité des Muqueuses, Institut Pasteur de Lille, France
Dominique Brassart, Danisco France, Culture Division, France; present address: Nestlé Nutrition, Vevey, Switzerland
Sophie Nutten, Annick Mercenier, Nestlé Research Center, Nutrition and Health Department, Lausanne, Switzerland
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by the EU granted QLK1-2000-00146 DEPROHEALTH research program, Institut Pasteur de Lille funding and funds from DANISCO Franc
Correspondence to: Dr. Bruno Pot, Bactéries Lactiques et Immunité des Muqueuses, Institut Pasteur de Lille, 1 Rue du Professeur Calmette, BP 245, Lille cedex F-59019, France. bruno.pot@ibl.fr
Telephone: +33-3-20871191 Fax: +33-3-20871192
Received: September 9, 2006
Revised: October 26, 2006
Accepted: December 7, 2006
Published online: January 14, 2007
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the correlation between the in vitro immune profile of probiotic strains and their ability to prevent experimental colitis in mice.

METHODS: in vitro immunomodulation was assessed by measuring interleukin (IL)-12p70, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interferon γ (IFNγ) release by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after 24 h stimulation with 13 live bacterial strains. A murine model of acute TNBS-colitis was next used to evaluate the prophylactic protective capacity of the same set of strains.

RESULTS: A strain-specific in vivo protection was observed. The strains displaying an in vitro capacity to induce higher levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and lower levels of the inflammatory cytokine IL-12, offered the best protection in the in vivo colitis model. In contrast, strains leading to a low IL-10/IL-12 cytokine ratio could not significantly attenuate colitis symptoms.

CONCLUSION: These results show that we could predict the in vivo protective capacity of the studied lactic acid bacteria (LAB) based on the cytokine profile we established in vitro. The PBMC-based assay we used may thus serve as a useful primary indicator to narrow down the number of candidate strains to be tested in murine models for their anti-inflammatory potential.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease; Probiotics; Cytokines; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells; Trinitrobenzene sulfonate-induced colitis