Background: Many types of fermented food are consumed in Japan. Although some are produced by plant-origin lactic-acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation, the physiological functions of such bacteria remain unclear. We therefore isolated LAB of plant origin from Kyoto pickles and determined the immunological activity of heat-killed preparations of plant-origin LAB. Methods: The Lactobacillus pentosus strain S-PT84 was selected from among 16 LAB of plant origin as the strongest interleukin (IL)-12-inducing strain. IL-12- and IL-10-inducing activities were determined with macrophages from BALB/c mice. The in vivo immunomodulating effect of S-PT84was determined with BALB/c mice fed S-PT84. The antiallergic activity of S-PT84 was examined in ovalbumin (OVA)/alum-administered BALB/c mice. Results: The L. pentosus strain S-PT84 induced production of both IL-12 and IL-10 in vitro. S-PT84 enhanced splenic natural-killer activity and modulated the T helper (Th) type 1/type 2 balance toward a Th1-dominant state. In the OVA-induced allergy model, orally administered S-PT84 lowered serum IgE levels and suppressed active cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction and splenic IL-4 production. IL-10 production from splenocytes of OVA-immunized mice was upregulated by feeding S-PT84. Conclusions: Despite heat-killing, S-PT84 exhibited antiallergic effects by modulating the Th1/Th2 balance and inducing regulatory T cells. The L. pentosus strain S-PT84, which is of plant origin and isolated from a traditional Japanese food, is expected to be useful for treatment of many immune diseases including allergies, tumors, infectious diseases and auto-immune diseases.

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Lactobacillus pentosus S-PT84, which was isolated from Kyoto pickles, enhances splenic natural killer (NK) cell activity, increases IgA production from Peyer's patch cells and has high T-helper 1 (Th1) cytokine and type 1-interferon-inducing activity. However, all of these effects were obtained by using heat-killed S-PT84. In the present study, we investigated the immunomodulatory effect of live and heat-killed S-PT84 in BALB/c mice. Unexpectedly, live S-PT84 indicated weak activity on Th1 cytokine (interleukin-12 or interferon-γ) production from splenocytes compared to heat-killed S-PT84 in vitro. Similar tendencies were also shown in S-PT84 having different cell wall thickness. Next, we compared the immunomodulatory effect after oral ingestion of each S-PT84. The results indicated splenic NK activity was equally enhanced by live or heat-killed S-PT84 ingestion, though heat-killed S-PT84 indicated slightly higher activity in interferon-γ production and inclination toward Th1 immunity. These results suggested that both live and heat-killed S-PT84 have an equal immunomodulatory effect in BALB/c mice. It is thought that the use of heat-killed S-PT84 is advantageous from the viewpoint of ease of handling compared to live S-PT84.

These results indicate that Galphaq pathway is responsible for BconP-induced CCK secretion in STC-1 cells, and suggest the involvement of a Galphaq-coupled GPCR(s) in dietary peptide sensing in enteroendocrine cells.

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To analyze the hemodynamic parameters during circulation with oscillated blood flow, nonlinear mathematical analyzing techniques, including fractal theory, were utilized. Vibrating flow pumps (VFP) were implanted as a left heart bypass, and the ascending aorta was clamped to constitute the total left heart circulation with oscillated blood flow in acute animal experiments using 7 adult goats. Using nonlinear mathematical analyzing techniques, reconstructed attractors of the arterial blood pressure waveform in the phase space during natural circulation and oscillated circulation were analyzed. Using the Grassberger-Procaccia correlation dimension analyzing technique, fractal dimension analysis of the reconstructed attractor was performed. During VFP bypass, lower fractal dimensions of the reconstructed attractor were shown compared with those during natural heart circulation. The results suggest that lower dimensional chaotic dynamics contributed to the circulation with oscillated blood flow.

We previously showed a prophylactic effect of Lactobacillus pentosus strain S-PT84 against oral candidiasis in mice. In the present study, we evaluated the protective effect of S-PT84 against Candida infection of the gastrointestinal tract. As the first step, we used an in vitro assay to compare the inhibitory effects of several lactobacilli (S-PT84 and Lactobacillus pentosus type strain JCM1558, Lactobacillus gasseri type strain JCM1131 and Lactobacillus casei type strain JCM1134) on mycelial growth of Candida albicans. S-PT84 directly adhered to Candida cells and showed the strongest growth-inhibitory activity among the tested Lactobacillus strains. In the second experiment, we used an in vivo assay to evaluate the effect of S-PT84 ingestion on severity score of stomach lesion and gastric inflammation in a mouse model of gastrointestinal candidiasis. The severity scores were significantly improved by oral administration of S-PT84 (6 mg/ 200 μL), consistent with decreased coverage of stomach lesions by patchy whitish plaques. The attenuation of stomach lesion severity by S-PT84 was more pronounced than that obtained with L. gasseri type strain JCM1131, consistent with the results of the above in vitro study. Histological analysis also indicated that S-PT84 prevented the adhesion of C. albicans to the stomach surface and suppressed stomach inflammation caused by neutrophil infiltration. Furthermore, S-PT84 also suppressed the vascular permeability observed in Candida-infected stomach. These results suggest that oral administration of S-PT84 might be effective not only in inhibiting Candida infection but also in preventing gastric inflammation induced by Candida infection.