Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are well-known to exert various beneficial health effects. Especially, immunomodulatory activities of LAB have been highlighted by recent studies. Our previous findings demonstrated that Weissella cibaria JW15 possessed immunostimulatory activities through modulation of macrophages, T cells and NK cells. Here, we studied whether this LAB is able to modulate dendritic cells (DC) function since DC are the most effective antigen presenting cells, linking innate immunity with adaptive immunity. Bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) from mice were prepared and stimulated with live JW15, heat-killed JW15 and EPS isolated from JW15, followed by evaluation of cytokine production, expression of maturation markers and activation of intracellular signaling pathways. Our results revealed that JW15 as well as EPS induced phenotypic maturation of DC as shown by increased surface expression of CD80, CD86, CD40 and MHC II. In addition, both of JW15 and EPS increased the production of various cytokines in a dose dependent manner including TNF-a and IL-12. We also found that JW15 activated NF-κB and MAPK signal pathways. Collectively, we propose that JW15 and EPS isolated from this bacteria is able to activate dendritic cells and possess a potential to be developed as functional materials to boost immune system. Further studies are needed to provide comprehensive information to support our conclusions and reveal molecular mechanisms by which JW15 modulate immune responses.

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