| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥1,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000)
Fiscal Year 2001: ¥2,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Fermented milks and their related dairy lactic acid bacterla have long been thought to be of value for health maintenance. Recently, corroborative experiments on the physiological functions of dairy lactic acid bacteria (LAB), especially the probiotic LAB, and their derivatives have been carried out. A great interest has been focused on biological functions such as immunomodulations. In our recent study, we have been particularly focusing on the DNA from LAB as one of the immunomoduratory factors in the LAB. The present study was conducted to elucidate the cytokine induction by the DNA in the gut. After stimulation of swine peyer's patch and mesenteric lymph node wlth DNA motifs from the LAB, induction of cytokine mRNA was estimated by real time PCR method. In addition, a novel function of L gasseri was investigated. The DNA motifs augmented induction of TH1 type cytokine (IL-6, IL-12, IFNy) mRNA in peyer's patches. The macrophage clemotaxis induced by L gasseri JCM1131^T culture supematants, which the chemotactic factor was designated as "Gasserokine", was discovered to be a new biological function exerted by probiotic lactic acid bacteria. Therefore, the activity is expected to be used for one of the functional parameters in the immunomodulating properties of probiotic lactic acid bacteria. This study demonstrated that immunostimulatory DNA motif from the LAB exerted the cytokine induction in the gut and proposed that the LAB is a good candidate of a starter culture for the production of new functional foods, "Bio-Defense Foods".
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