Effect of Probiotic Supplement on Cytokine Levels in HIV-Infected Individuals: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Inflammation persists in patients infected with HIV. Reduction of inflammatory cytokines and microbial translocation might be one way that this could be managed. Purpose: The anti-inflammatory properties of certain probiotic strains prompted us to investigate whether a probiotic could reduce the inflammatory index of HIV-infected patients. Methods: The study involved 30 HIV+ males on antiretroviral therapy, who were given one bottle of fermented milk Yakult Light® containing Lactobacillus casei Shirota (LcS) twice a day for four weeks. Results: The probiotic LcS was associated with an increase of T lymphocytes and a significant increase of CD56+ cells (p = 0.04). There was also a significant decrease of mRNA levels of TGFβ, IL-10 and IL-12 (p < 0.001) and IL-1β expression (p < 0.001) and an increase of serum IL-23 (p = 0.03). In addition, decreased inflammation and cardiovascular risk were observed, as shown by a reduction of cystatin C (p < 0.001). Conclusions: These data provide preliminary evidence that probiotic supplementation may modulate certain immunological parameters and some of the cytokines that were analyzed. Thus, we propose that LcS may be an inexpensive and practical strategy to support the immune function of HIV+ patients.

Microbiome alterations in HIV infection a review

“…Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus combinations have been found to decrease serum markers of systemic immune activation and Lactobacillus to improve CD4 count consistent with findings from the observational cohorts (Anukam et al ., ; Irvine et al ., ; Gautam et al ., ; d'Ettorre et al ., ; Stiksrud et al ., ). While the majority of studies seem to suggest a positive effect, these findings have not been universal (Hummelen et al ., ; Schunter et al ., ; Falasca et al ., ). Bacillus coagulans appears to improve chronic gastrointestinal symptoms but did not lead to any meaningful changes in CD4 or soluble markers (Yang et al ., ).…”

Probiotic supplementation promotes a reduction in T‐cell activation, an increase in Th17 frequencies, and a recovery of intestinal epithelium integrity and mitochondrial morphology in ART‐treated HIV‐1‐positive patients

“…Macaques treated with a Lactobacillus-containing formulation showed also a decreased IDO1 activity improving the preservation of Th17 cells during pathogenic SIV infection [13]. Most of our understanding on potential benefits imparted to HIV-1-positive individuals by dietary supplementation with probiotics are derived from animal models of lentiviral disease or from the evaluation of the systemic effects of probiotic [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and only few studies have focused analyses on gut microbiota [18][19][20][21][22][23], gastrointestinal anatomy, and physiology [21] and potential benefits of probiotic administration in HIV-1-infected patients. Although ART subjects might benefit from probiotic supplementation, these individuals might also be at risk for unexpected adverse reactions such as sepsis and the limited understanding about the mechanisms of probiotics action is a major drawback for the prediction of probiotic safety [24].…”

Microbiome and Probiotics inHealth and HIV Infection

“…The hypothesis that probiotics administration protects the gut surface and can delay progression of HIV infection to AIDS was proposed some years ago. Several studies have shown that probiotics supplementation could be useful in the reduction of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as hypercholesterolemia [98].…”

“…Also, chronic immune activation, inflammation and immune dysfunction persistence are likely to have important effects on the size and distribution of the viral reservoir [88,98,102]. There is a growing recognition that probiotics supplementation in HIV positive patients improves quality of life by improving the nutritional status, alleviating GI manifestations, and stimulating mucosal immune function [103].…”