Acinetobacter lwoffii and Lactococcus lactis strains isolated from farm cowsheds possess strong allergy-protective properties.
BACKGROUND
Children who grow up in a farming environment show lower levels of atopic sensitization, hay fever, and asthma than children of the same age not living in such an environment. A number of investigations provided good evidence that this is due to an early-life contact with cowsheds, farm animals, and/or consumption of products like raw milk. Also, it had been indicated that microorganisms might have an important effect on the development of allergies, and thus the question arose of which farm microbial organisms, their products, or both might induce or influence allergy-protective mechanisms.


OBJECTIVE
We sought to gain further insight into the potential allergy-protective properties of microbes isolated from the farming environment.


METHODS
Of a number of bacterial species identified in cowsheds of farms, 2 were selected, isolated, and characterized, namely Acinetobacter lwoffii F78 and Lactococcus lactis G121. The isolates were investigated with regard to their activation of pattern-recognition receptors, the maturation of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells, the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines, the T(H)1-polarizing Notch ligand expression, and their influence on the allergic phenotype.


RESULTS
It is shown that both bacterial isolates were able to reduce allergic reactions in mice, to activate mammalian cells in vitro, and to induce a T(H)1-polarizing program in dendritic cells.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data strongly support the hygiene hypothesis, which states that an environment rich in microbiologic structures, such as a farming environment, might protect against the development of allergies.


CONCLUSIONS
This work provides the first data on a potential application of cowshed bacteria in allergy protection.
Debarry
Jennifer
J
Division of Innate Immunity, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz-Center for Medicine, and Biosciences, Borstel, Germany.
Garn
Holger
H
Hanuszkiewicz
Anna
A
Dickgreber
Nina
N
Blümer
Nicole
N
von Mutius
Erika
E
Bufe
Albrecht
A
Gatermann
Sören
S
Renz
Harald
H
Holst
Otto
O
Heine
Holger
H
D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013294:Lactococcus lactis / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D051192:Receptors, Pattern Recognition / Q000378:metabolism; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
D051192:Receptors, Pattern Recognition