Abstract
Some studies reported that probiotic could relieve allergy-induced damage to the host, but how to get a useful probiotic is still a challenge. In this study, the protective effects of three lactic acid bacteria (La, Lp and Lc) were evaluated in a mouse model, and its relationship with the in vitro properties was analyzed. The in vitro results indicated that La with the capacity to inhibit IL-4 production could have a better anti-allergy effect in vivo than two others. However, the animal trials showed that all LAB strains could alleviate allergen-induced airway inflammation. Among them, LAB strain Lp had a better effect in inhibiting allergic response through a modulation of Th1/Th2 balance and an increase of regulatory T cells. This difference could be explained by that different LAB strains have a strain-specific effect on gut microbiota closely associated with host immune responses. Finally, this study did not only obtain an effective anti-allergy probiotic strain via animal study, but also indicate that probiotic-induced effect on intestinal microbiota should be considered as an important screening index, apart from its inherent characteristics.