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BACKGROUND & AIMS: Saccharomycesboulardii is a nonpathogenic yeast used for treatment of diarrhea. We used amice model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to analyze the effects of Sboulardii on inflammation. METHODS: Lymphocyte-transferred SCID mice,displaying IBD, were fed daily with S boulardii. Weight loss and inflammatorystatus of the colon were monitored. Nuclear factor-kappaB activity was assessedin the colon. The CD4(+) T-cell production of interferon (IFN) gamma wasevaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and a comprehensivereverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis for bothcolon and mesenteric lymph nodes was performed. Finally, we analyzed cellmigration mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: S boulardii treatmentinhibits IBD. S boulardii induces an accumulation of IFN-gamma-producingT-helper 1 cells within the mesenteric lymph nodes correlated with a diminutionof CD4(+) T-cell number and IFN-gamma production by CD4+ T cells within thecolon. The influence of S boulardii treatment on cell accumulation inmesenteric lymph nodes was also observed in normal BALB/c mice and involvesmodifications of lymph node endothelial cell adhesiveness by a yeast secretionproduct. CONCLUSIONS: S boulardii has a unique action on inflammation by aspecific alteration of the migratory behavior of T cells, which accumulate inmesenteric lymph nodes. Therefore, S boulardii treatment limits theinfiltration of T-helper 1 cells in the inflammed colon and the amplificationof inflammation induced by proinflammatory cytokines production. These resultssuggest that S boulardii administration may have a beneficial effect in thetreatment of IBD.Leggi l'articolo