Effects of Bifidobacterium Adolescent on the Function of Dendritic Cells of the Children with Allergic Asthma

Objective To evaluate the effects of Bifidobacterium adolescent on the function of dendritic cells(DC)derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC) of the children with allergic asthma.Methods The PBMC-derived DC were proliferated in the presence of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor(GM-CSF) and interleukin-4(IL-4) from 15 patients with allergic asthma and 15 normal children,and then the immature DC were cocultured with the Bifidobacterium adolescent for 48 h.The expression of CD86 and HLA-DR of DC were measured by flow cytometer.The IL-10,IL-12,and IFN-γ levels of culture supernatant were measured by ELISA.Results After the preprocessing with Bifidobacterium adolescent,the expression of CD86 on the DC,and secretion IL-12 and IFN-γ from the patients with allergic asthma were significantly increased(P 0.05).The preprocessing with the Bifidobacterium adolescent has no effects on the expression of CD86 and HLA-DR on the DC of the control group,but could increased the level of IL-12 and IL-10 significantly.Conclusions The Bifidobacterium adolescent can not only stimulate the maturation of DC from the patients with allergic asthma by up-regulating the expression of CD86,but also stimulate the DC to secret the IL-12 and IFN-γ.It may alter Th2 dominant differentiation and retrieve the Th1/Th2 imbalance in allergic asthma.