Previous works have described the activity of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis CECT 7210 (also commercially named B. infantis IM-1®) against rotavirus in mice and intestinal pathogens in piglets, as well as its diarrhea-reducing effect on healthy term infants. In the present work, we focused on the intestinal immunomodulatory effects of B. infantis IM-1® and for this purpose we used the epithelial cell line isolated from colorectal adenocarcinoma Caco-2 and a co-culture system of human dendritic cells (DCs) from peripheral blood together with Caco-2 cells. Single Caco-2 cultures and Caco-2: DC co-cultures were incubated with B. infantis IM-1® or its supernatant either in the presence or absence of Escherichia coli CECT 515. The B. infantis IM-1® supernatant exerted a protective effect against the cytotoxicity caused by Escherichia coli CECT 515 on single cultures of Caco-2 cells as viability reached the values of untreated cells. B. infantis IM-1® and its supernatant also decreased the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by Caco-2 cells and the co-cultures incubated in the presence of E. coli CECT 515, with the response being more modest in the latter, which suggests that DCs modulate the activity of Caco-2 cells. Overall, the results obtained point to the immunomodulatory activity of this probiotic strain, which might underlie its previously reported beneficial effects.
Keywords: B. infantis IM-1®; Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis CECT 7210; Caco-2 cells; Escherichia coli; co-cultures; cytokines; dendritic cells; probiotics.