O principal crescimento na indústria de alimentos funcionais corresponde ao dos produtos probióticos e prebióticos. A literatura mostra efeitos imunomoduladores de certas cepas probióticas, contudo, os resultados são às vezes controversos e os mecanismos implicados ainda são pouco elucidados. Sabe-se, no entanto que algumas cepas de probióticos aumentam significantemente a liberação de IL-10 e γ-INF modulando a resposta imune, além destas respostas serem de forma mais branda relacionada às bactérias Gram-positivas probióticas do que às Gram-positivas patogênicas. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo geral estudar o efeito do leite probiótico fermentado na resposta imune celular em cólon de camundongos BALB/c. Os objetivos específicos foram: (i) determinar o efeito imunomodulador do leite adicionado de probiótico em camundongos normais, (ii) identificar os tipos celulares implicados na resposta imune específica por citometria de fluxo e, (iii) colocalizá-los nos cortes histológicos. Simultaneamente, a análise e a comparação da resistência do probiótico à digestão gastrintestinal in vitro e a produção de metabólitos bioativos de acordo com os deferentes produtos foi realizada. Foram preparados leites nos quais as variáveis estudadas foram a tecnologia empregada para a produção das formulações (a) leite; (b) água, (c) leite não fermentado; (d) leite fermentado; (e) leite fermentado seguido de pasteurização, usando a mesma concentração da cepa comercial Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis HOWARU HN019. O leite desnatado e a água foram usados como controles. / Functional food industry is in expansion mainly due to probiotic and prebiotic products. Studies have shown some probiotic strains develop immune modulation effect, however, these results are controversial and the mechanisms are not been well understood. Although, some probiotic strains increase IL-10 and γ-INF release modulating immune response, this response is weaker in probiotic strains when compared to pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria. The major aim of the present study was to assess the effect of probiotic fermented milk in cellular immune response of Balb/c mice colon. The specific objectives were: (i) to determine the immunomodulation of the milk added of probiotic in normal mice; (ii) to identify the cellular types implied in immune specific response and, (iii) to colocalize them in histological sections. Besides, the analyze and comparation of the probiotic resistance upon in vitro gastrointestinal and bioactive metabolites release in fermented or unfermented bifido milk using the same matrix, probiotic strain and probiotic dose in CFU. mL-1 were conducted. Dairy products were prepared in which variable form of technological appliance were: (i) milk, (ii) water, (iii) unfermented milk, (iv) fermented milk, and (v) fermented and heat treatment milk, all using Bifidobacterium subsp. lactis HOWARU HN019 strain in the same concentration. The skimmed milk and water were used as controls. The immune effects were evaluated by histological sections and the lymphocytic infiltrated was analyzed by flow citometry and histology.

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Dendritic cells (DC) play a key role in immunity and represent a great target for modulation, because of their ability to prime T cells and direct their polarisation into effector subsets. Ticks release immunomodulatory compounds in their saliva, possibly in order to evade host immune responses during feeding. We have recently reported that Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks produce ‘Japanin’, a secretory lipocalin that arrests differentiation of monocytes into DC and reprogrammes maturation of DC in response to various stimuli towards a tolerogenic phenotype . Japanin was cloned and recombinantly expressed in a baculovirus system for subsequent immunological and biochemical analysis. This study was set out to further investigate the immunomodulatory activity of Japanin as well as the underlying mechanism of action. We have discovered that Japanin prevents DC-mediated proliferation and polarisation of allogeneic T cells. Experiments with labelled Japanin have demonstrated that it binds predominantly to ex vivo generated human monocyte-derived DC (moDC) and to a reduced degree to monocyte and DC populations in peripheral blood, yet to no other blood leucocytes. We have identified CD206, also known as the mannose receptor, as a Japanin-binding receptor on moDC. This identification has been achieved by crosslinking and subsequent pull-down of Japanin-receptor complexes from moDC. Affinity studies with recombinant CD206 constructs have confirmed the binding to Japanin. Moreover, the binding has been verified by specific siRNA knock-down of CD206 in moDC, which resulted in significantly decreased binding of Japanin. Unexpectedly, CD206 has appeared to be dispensable for at least most of the DC-modulatory activity of Japanin. Therefore, attempts were made to determine other factors in the mode of action of Japanin, through which we have found that IL-10 is not essentially involved. Further results have suggested that the activity of Japanin demands cell contact. Collectively, we have come to the conclusion that the mechanism of action of Japanin might require internalisation by DC, potentially enabling modulation of intracellular pathways involved in the regulation of DC maturation.

Inflammation and an influx of macrophages are common elements in many diseases. Among pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a central role by amplifying the cytokine network. Progranulin (PGRN) is a growth factor that binds to TNF receptors and interferes with TNF-mediated signaling. Extracellular PGRN is processed into granulins by proteases released from immune cells. PGRN exerts anti-inflammatory effects, whereas granulins are pro-inflammatory. The factors coordinating these ambivalent functions remain unclear. In our study, we identify Y-box binding protein-1 (YB-1) as a candidate for this immune-modulating activity. Using a yeast-2-hybrid assay with YB-1 protein as bait, clones encoding for progranulin were selected using stringent criteria for strong interaction. We demonstrate that at physiological concentrations, YB-1 interferes with the binding of TNF to its receptors in a dose-dependent manner using a flow cytometry-based binding assay. We show that YB-1 in combination with progranulin interferes with TNF-mediated signaling, supporting the functionality with an NF-B luciferase reporter assay. Together, we show that YB-1 displays immunomodulating functions by affecting the binding of TNF to its receptors and influencing TNF-mediated signaling via its interaction with progranulin.