Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Laboratory of Advanced Translational Research, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV - IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Gut Microbes. 2021 Jan-Dec;13(1):1961970. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1961970.
The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is causing the ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which primarily manifests with respiratory distress and may also lead to symptoms associated with the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics are living microorganisms that have been shown to confer immune benefits. In this study, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of three different probiotic strains, either alone or in combination with lactoferrin, using the intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cell line. Our results revealed that the DG strain significantly induced the expression of genes involved in protective antiviral immunity and prevented the expression of proinflammatory genes triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, DG significantly inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection DG also positively affected the antiviral immune activity of lactoferrin and significantly augmented its anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells. Overall, our work shows that the probiotic strain DG is a promising candidate that exhibits prophylactic potential against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
新型严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2(SARS-CoV-2)正在引发当前的全球 2019 年冠状病毒病(COVID-19)大流行,其主要表现为呼吸窘迫,也可能导致与胃肠道相关的症状。益生菌是已被证明具有免疫益处的活微生物。在这项研究中,我们使用肠上皮 Caco-2 细胞系研究了三种不同益生菌菌株(单独或与乳铁蛋白联合使用)的免疫调节作用和抗 SARS-CoV-2 活性。我们的结果表明,DG 株显著诱导了与保护性抗病毒免疫相关的基因表达,并阻止了 SARS-CoV-2 感染引发的促炎基因的表达。此外,DG 株还显著抑制了 SARS-CoV-2 感染,并且还能显著增强乳铁蛋白的抗病毒免疫活性,并显著增强其在 Caco-2 肠上皮细胞中的抗 SARS-CoV-2 活性。总的来说,我们的工作表明,益生菌菌株 DG 是一种有前途的候选物,具有预防 SARS-CoV-2 感染的潜力。