Immunosuppressive Activity of Goat Kefir in a Rat Model with Bleomycin-induced Pulmonary Fibrosis

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory capacity of goat kefir on pulmonary fibrosis rat model. Material and Methods: Twenty-five male rats were randomly divided into five groups: one group only received induction with bleomycin (0.3 mg/rat) to induce pulmonary fibrosis; three groups were treated with different doses (2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 mL/200 g BW) of goat kefir, following the induction with bleomycin, for 30 days; and one group served as negative control, did not receive bleomycin induction as well as kefir. On day 30, all the animals were sacrificed. Plasma levels of TGF-β, IL-4, and IFN-y were measured using the ELISA method, and the expression of α-SMA in myofibroblast cells was examined with the help of immunohistochemistry assay. Results: Induction with bleomycin significantly elevated the expressions of TGF-β, IL-4, and IFN-y in comparison to the control group. Following the administration of kefir (3.5 and 4.5 mL/200 g BW), the concentration of TGF-β was significantly decreased (p<0.05); whereas, the concentration of IFN-y increased slightly (p<0.05) only in the group that received the 4.5 mL/200 g BW dose of kefir. In contrast, IL-4 exhibited increasing levels with higher doses of kefir (p<0.05). The expression of α-SMA in myofibroblasts showed a tendency to decline following the administration of kefir, although this decline was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Goat kefir caused a reduction in the TGF-β levels in fibrosis conditions; however, the kefir elicited an immunosuppressive effect during the progression of the pulmonary fibrosis.

Ameliorative Potential of Donepezil with or without Prednisolone in Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Rats: Involvement of the Anti-Inflammatory, Antioxidant, and the Antifibrotic Pathways

“…The animals were divided randomly into 5 equal groups of 10 rats each, as follows ( Figure 1 ): control group in which 50 µL of normal saline was administered intranasally (IN) via a micropipette (25 µL per nostril) once daily for 6 days with an interval of 2 days between the 3rd and the 4th administrations; bleomycin group in which BLM at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg was administered IN to induce lung fibrosis via a micropipette (25 µL per nostril) once daily for 6 days with an interval of 2 days between the 3rd and the 4th administrations [ 15 ]; prednisolone group in which rats were given prednisolone 3 mg/kg daily by oral gavage [ 16 ]; donepezil group in which rats were given donepezil 5 mg/kg daily by oral gavage [ 17 ]; and prednisolone/donepezil combination group in which prednisolone was administered concomitantly with donepezil in the aforementioned doses by oral gavage. Administration of both prednisolone and donepezil started one week before, and continued for 4 weeks after, the initiation of BLM administration.…”

Tinjauan Literatur: KEFIR: MIKROBIOLOGI, SENYAWA BIOAKTIF, DAN MANFAATNYA PADA PENYAKIT NONINFEKSI

“…82 Pada jaringan paru, pemberian kefir dosis rendah pada tikus model fibrosis subkronis menunjukkan adanya efek yang positif pada jaringan paru pada tikus yang dipapar dengan bleomycin, namun apabila dosis kefir ditingkatkan menjadi tinggi, maka justru memiliki efek sebaliknya yaitu memperparah fibrosis. 83,84…”