Abstract
House dust mite allergy accounts for a majority of severe allergic asthma cases, and there is a need for new prevention and treatment strategies. Specific probiotics have shown beneficial effects in the treatment of allergic diseases, owning to their inherent immunomodulatory properties. To obtain new and effective anti-allergy probiotics, cytokine profiles of 25 lactic acid bacteria strains were measured by in vitro co-culture with mice spleen cells. Of the various strains, strong IL-10-inducing Streptococcus thermophilus CCFM218 (ST218) significantly suppressed IL-4 secretion in vitro and was postulated to have a better anti-allergy effect in vivo. To determine the anti-allergy property of ST218, its protective effect on allergic response was evaluated in a mouse allergy model together with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. In contrast to LGG, ST218 had a better suppressive effect on allergic response in vivo, characterized by increased specific IgG2a and IL-10 levels in serum, regulatory T cells in the mesenteric lymph nodes and a reduction in serum Th2 cytokine IL-4. It indicated that ST218 was an excellent anti-allergy strain that can be favorable to use in the treatment or prevention of allergic diseases.