Natural Product Informatics Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, 679, Saimdang-ro, Gangneung 25451, Korea.
Division of Bio-Medical Science and Technology, KIST School, University of Science and Technology, 679, Saimdang-ro, Seoul 02792, Korea.
FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2023 Jul 5;47(4). doi: 10.1093/femsre/fuad046.
Probiotics, live microorganisms that confer health benefits when consumed in adequate amounts, have gained significant attention for their potential therapeutic applications. The beneficial effects of probiotics are believed to stem from their ability to enhance intestinal barrier function, inhibit pathogens, increase beneficial gut microbes, and modulate immune responses. However, clinical studies investigating the effectiveness of probiotics have yielded conflicting results, potentially due to the wide variety of probiotic species and strains used, the challenges in controlling the desired number of live microorganisms, and the complex interactions between bioactive substances within probiotics. Bacterial cell wall components, known as effector molecules, play a crucial role in mediating the interaction between probiotics and host receptors, leading to the activation of signaling pathways that contribute to the health-promoting effects. Previous reviews have extensively covered different probiotic effector molecules, highlighting their impact on immune homeostasis. Understanding how each probiotic component modulates immune activity at the molecular level may enable the prediction of immunological outcomes in future clinical studies. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of the structural and immunological features of probiotic effector molecules, focusing primarily on Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. We also discuss current gaps and limitations in the field and propose directions for future research to enhance our understanding of probiotic-mediated immunomodulation.
益生菌是一种能够在适量摄入时带来健康益处的活微生物，它们在治疗应用方面引起了广泛关注。人们认为益生菌的有益效果源于其增强肠道屏障功能、抑制病原体、增加有益肠道微生物和调节免疫反应的能力。然而，研究益生菌有效性的临床研究结果存在矛盾，这可能是由于使用的益生菌种类和菌株繁多、控制所需活菌数量的挑战以及益生菌内生物活性物质之间的复杂相互作用所致。细菌细胞壁成分，称为效应分子，在介导益生菌与宿主受体之间的相互作用中起着至关重要的作用，导致激活信号通路，从而促进健康促进作用。之前的综述广泛涵盖了不同的益生菌效应分子，强调了它们对免疫稳态的影响。了解每个益生菌成分如何在分子水平上调节免疫活性，可能有助于预测未来临床研究中的免疫结果。在这篇综述中，我们全面介绍了益生菌效应分子的结构和免疫学特征，主要集中在乳杆菌和双歧杆菌上。我们还讨论了该领域目前的差距和局限性，并提出了未来研究的方向，以增强我们对益生菌介导的免疫调节的理解。
