Topic Highlight
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 14, 2014; 20(42): 15632-15649
Published online Nov 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i42.15632
Modulation of immunity and inflammatory gene expression in the gut, in inflammatory diseases of the gut and in the liver by probiotics
Julio Plaza-Diaz, Carolina Gomez-Llorente, Luis Fontana, Angel Gil
Julio Plaza-Diaz, Carolina Gomez-Llorente, Luis Fontana, Angel Gil, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, School of Pharmacy and Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “Jose Mataix”, Biomedical Research Center, University of Granada, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain
Author contributions: All authors contributed to the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Angel Gil, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, School of Pharmacy and Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “Jose Mataix”, Biomedical Research Center, University of Granada, Avenida del Conocimiento s/n, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain. agil@ugr.es
Telephone: +34-958-241000-20307 Fax: +34-958-819132.
Received: February 28, 2014
Revised: May 4, 2014
Accepted: June 21, 2014
Published online: November 14, 2014
Processing time: 261 Days and 17.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Probiotics, which include live microorganisms as well as dead bacteria and bacterial molecular components, confer a health benefit to the host when administered in adequate amounts. Most of the published research articles that are devoted to probiotics evaluate the effects of probiotics on the prevention and treatment of diseases. However, only a few of these articles address the mechanism of action of these microorganisms. This paper reviews the mechanisms of action that have been proposed to explain the beneficial effects of probiotics, most of which involve gene expression regulation in specific tissues, particularly the intestine and liver. Several strains of Lactic acid bacteria, Escherichia coli, Propionibacterium, Bacillus and Saccharomyces influence the gene expression in gut and liver cells, leading mainly to anti-inflammatory responses and to the enhancement of immunotolerance to foreign antigens.