Eftekhari Zohre, Doroud Delaram, Tajabadi-Ebrahimi Maryam, Kazemi-Lomedasht Fatemeh
Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Research and Production Complex, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Curr Pharm Des. 2025;31(3):233-242. doi: 10.2174/0113816128310203240823053538.
The role of probiotics and micronutrients in improving immune system function and response to vaccination has been proven. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the effects of probiotics enriched with micronutrients on the immunogenicity of PastoCovac vaccine.
The probiotic supplement BioBoost and PastoCovac vaccine, which contain six expressed Receptor- binding Domains (RBD) and conjugated with tetanus toxin, were administered concurrently. The safety and efficacy were assessed by determining Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody titers to RBD and cytokines, mRNA expression of Toll-like Receptors (TLRs) 5, and clinical symptoms.
Results revealed that the administration of the probiotics enriched with micronutrients and vitamins for 14 days before the first vaccine dose, followed by continued supplementation for 14 days after the first dose, and in conjunction with the second vaccine dose, yielded the most significant elevation in Interleukin 4 (IL-4), Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF alpha), Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG levels within the supernatant samples collected from spleen cultures with the highest expression of TLR5 genes in intestinal samples, compared to the control group.
Our results indicated that the inclusion of probiotics enriched with micronutrients and vitamins significantly enhanced the immunogenicity of the PastoCovac vaccine. Based on the recommendation to administer third and fourth vaccine doses, particularly for vulnerable and elderly individuals, the utilization of supplements containing probiotics is expected to favorably influence immune responses.
益生菌和微量营养素在改善免疫系统功能及对疫苗接种的反应方面的作用已得到证实。因此，本研究旨在探讨富含微量营养素的益生菌对PastoCovac疫苗免疫原性的影响。
同时给予含有六种表达的受体结合结构域（RBD）并与破伤风毒素结合的益生菌补充剂BioBoost和PastoCovac疫苗。通过测定针对RBD的免疫球蛋白G（IgG）抗体滴度、细胞因子、Toll样受体（TLR）5的mRNA表达以及临床症状来评估安全性和有效性。
结果显示，在首次接种疫苗前14天给予富含微量营养素和维生素的益生菌，然后在首次接种后继续补充14天，并与第二次疫苗接种同时进行，与对照组相比，在肠道样本中TLR5基因表达最高的脾脏培养物收集的上清液样本中，白细胞介素4（IL-4）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNFα）、干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）和抗SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG水平有最显著的升高。
我们的结果表明，添加富含微量营养素和维生素的益生菌可显著增强PastoCovac疫苗的免疫原性。基于对第三剂和第四剂疫苗接种的建议，特别是针对弱势群体和老年人，预计使用含益生菌的补充剂将对免疫反应产生有利影响。
