Suppression of proinflammatory cytokine production by specific metabolites of Lactobacillus plantarum 10hk2 via inhibiting NF-κB and p38 MAPK expressions

The objective of this study was to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of specific bacterial metabolites of Lactobacillus plantarum 10hk2 to induce anti-inflammatory mediators in cell cultures of the murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. The effects of the extracellular metabolites of this bacterial strain were examined by dividing them into protein and polysaccharide fractions. A specific protein fraction (8.7 kDa) was found to be a strong IL-10 inducer in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells and suppressed LPS-induced NF-kappa B induction and inhibited LPS-induced phosphorylation of I-kappa B and p38 MAPK. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study that investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of an extracellular peptide derived from lactic acid bacteria. In addition, we characterized the inhibitory mode of this molecule in the induction of proinflammatory cytokines. Based on the findings presented in this study, this molecule holds promise for use as an agent to modulate inflammation related diseases. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.