An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Heat-Killed Lactic Acid Bacteria in Alleviating Allergic Diseases

Effect of oral administration of heat-killed lactic acid bacteria on the serum ovalbumin (OVA)-specific IgE level in BALB/c mice. The same experiment was repeated twice, producing similar results, and one experiment is shown. Error bars represent the standard deviations for 10 individual values. An asterisk (*) represents a significant difference from the control group (P<0.05). AU = arbitrary units. The black bar indicates the OVA-specific IgE level in mice administered Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2809.

Cytokine production by splenocytes (A) and mesenteric lymph node cells (B) ex vivo from mice orally administered heat-killed lactic acid bacteria. The same experiment was repeated twice, producing similar results, and a typical result is shown. Error bars represent the standard deviations for 10 individual values. Asterisks (*) represent a significant difference from the control group (P<0.05). The black bars represent cytokine levels from mice administered Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2809.

Decrease of IL-12 (p70) stimulatory activity of Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2809 treated with mutanolysin (N-acetyl-muramidase). Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2809 was treated with different concentrations of mutanolysin at 37°C for 30min (A) and with 50μg/mL of mutanolysin at 37°C for different incubation periods (B). Error bars represent the standard deviations for 3 individual values. *P<0.05; ** P<0.01.

Relationship between IL-12 (p70)-stimulatory activity and the amount of peptidoglycan (PGN) in the cells. Interleukin-12 (p70)-stimulatory activity and the amount of PGN in the cells were positively correlated (y = 0.021x + 73.44; r = 0.5202; n = 31, P<0.01).