title: Probiotic and anti-inflammatory attributes of an isolate Lactobacillus helveticus NS8 from Mongolian fermented koumiss.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Koumiss is a traditionally fermented mare's milk described with health-promoting potentials for decades. However, only a few studies focused on the probiotic strains isolated from koumiss. In this study, we collected koumiss samples from Inner Mongolian pasturing area of China and selected a promising strain of Lactobacillus helveticus, isolate NS8, based on the survival abilities in gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and adhesion to intestinal endothelial cells in vitro. As the ability to positively modulate host immune response is a feature of increasing importance in measuring the probiotic potential of a bacterial strain, our study mainly focus on the immunomodulatory properties of L. helveticus NS8 by using in vivo and ex vivo analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  L. helveticus NS8 was identified by molecular-typing methods, both at genus and species levels. As a typical food niche-specific bacteria, NS8 showed a moderate survival ability in GIT environment in vitro. However, an excellent binding capacity to the human intestinal epithelial cells, along with significant autoaggregation and cell-surface hydrophobicity was observed. Additionally, the presence of S-layer protein was responsible for the cell surface properties of this strain. NS8 was found to be rather protective against TNBS (2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid)-induced murine colitis. In the meantime, co-culture with NS8 induced an increased level of secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in peripheral blood mono-nuclear cells (PBMCs). Furthermore, NS8 was also able to diminish the proinflammatory effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7 by inducing higher levels of IL-10. Specially, adding of the purified S-layer protein didn't influence the production of IL-10. The specific ligand-host receptor interactions on the NS8 specific immune responses need to be learned further.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In summary, L. helveticus NS8 exhibited good probiotic and particularly immunomodulatory properties, with a potential for development of functional food commercially or therapeutic adjuvant for inflammatory diseases.
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China. jjrong@hznu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rong
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China. hou.zheng@mail.mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Houfeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. liuming@genetics.ac.cn.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. liuming@genetics.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. huxu@psych.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. wangt@psych.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China. xwzhang@medmail.com.cn.
authors.forename: Xingwei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. jinfeng@psych.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China. liwang@hznu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003092:Colitis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D043302:Cultured Milk Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000378:metabolism; D052198:Lactobacillus helveticus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D058889:Molecular Typing; D008986:Mongolia; D019936:Probiotics / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000067996:RAW 264.7 Cells; D014302:Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; C055764:S-layer proteins; D016753:Interleukin-10; D014302:Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid