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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, May 2001, p. 593-597, Vol. 8, No. 3
Yakult Central Institute for Microbiological
Research, 1796 Yaho, Kunitachi, Tokyo 1868650, Japan
Received 29 December 2000/Returned for modification 16 February
2001/Accepted 12 March 2001
In mice administered Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota
(LcS) intranasally, potent induction of interleukin 12, gamma
interferon, and tumor necrosis factor alpha, which play a very
important role in excluding influenza virus (IFV), was evident in
mediastinal lymph node cells. In this model of upper respiratory IFV
infection, the titers of virus in the nasal wash of mice inoculated
with 200 µg of LcS for three consecutive days (LcS 200 group) before infection were significantly (P < 0.01) lower than
those of mice not inoculated with LcS (control group) (100.9 ± 0.6 versus 102.1 ± 1.0). The IFV titer was
decreased to about 1/10 of the control level. Using this infection
model with modifications, we investigated whether the survival rate of
mice was increased by intranasal administration of LcS. The survival
rate of the mice in the LcS 200 group was significantly
(P < 0.05) greater than that of the mice in the
control group (69% versus 15%). It seems that the decrease in the
titer of virus in the upper respiratory tract to 1/10 of the control
level was important in preventing death. These findings suggest that
intranasal administration of LcS enhances cellular immunity in the
respiratory tract and protects against influenza virus infection.
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.3.593-597.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Effect of Intranasal Administration of
Lactobacillus casei Shirota on Influenza Virus Infection of
Upper Respiratory Tract in Mice
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Yakult Central
Institute for Microbiological Research, 1796 Yaho, Kunitachi, Tokyo 1868650, Japan. Phone: 81-425-77-8969. Fax: 81-425-77-3020. E-mail: tetsuji-hori{at}yakult.co.jp.
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