Lactobacillus Plantarum and Lactobacillus Paracasei Modulate the Peripheral Immune Response in Children with Celiac Disease Autoimmunity

Celiac.com 11/02/2021 - Lactobacillus strains L. plantarum HEAL9 and L. paracasei 8700:2 have shown anti-inflammatory properties by reducing the body's pro-inflammatory responses to antigens. 

Using a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, a team of researchers recently set out to test the hypothesis that the two strains suppress ongoing celiac disease autoimmunity in genetically at risk children on a gluten-containing diet.

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The research team included Åsa Håkansson; Carin Andrén Aronsson; Charlotte Brundin; Elin Oscarsson; Göran Molin; and Daniel Agardh. They are variously affiliated with the Department of Food Technology Engineering and Nutrition, Lund University in Lund, Sweden; and the The Diabetes and Celiac Disease Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, 21428 Malmö, Sweden.

The team enrolled a total of seventy-eight children with celiac disease autoimmunity. For six months, forty of the children received 1010 CFU/day of L. plantarum HEAL9 and L. paracasei 8700:2 (probiotic group), while 38 children received a placebo containing maltodextrin. 

Using blood samples drawn at zero, three and six months, the team measured phenotyping of peripheral blood lymphocytes and IgA and IgG autoantibodies against tissue transglutaminase (tTG).  They found that naïve CD45RA+ Th cells decreased in the placebo group, while effector and memory CD45RO+ Th cells, and cells expressing CD4+CD25highCD45RO+CCR4+ increased. They also saw changes in the NK cells and NKT cells between the groups. 

Compared to the placebo group, the probiotic group saw average levels of IgA-tTG increase more substantially over time, while average levels of IgG-tTG decreased.

Their results show that daily oral administration of L. plantarum HEAL9 and L. paracasei 8700:2 reduces the intensity of the peripheral immune response in children with celiac disease autoimmunity.

Read more in Nutrients 2019, 11(8), 1925