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. 2013 May 29;5(6):1869–1912. doi: 10.3390/nu5061869

Table 2.

Probiotic strains differentially modulate pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines.

Cytokines (Immune Response) Cell system Response Probiotic strain References
TNF-α and IL-1β (Pro-inflammatory) PBMCs Increase L. rhamnosus
L. bulgaricus
S. pyogenes 		[121]
Bifidobacteria [142]
L. casei Shirota [124]
[129]
L. salivarius
L. fermentum 		[143]
L. plantarum strains [130]
PBMC-DCs Increase L. rhamnosus Lcr35 [120]
Myeloid DCs Increase L. reuteri [133]
Epithelial cells Increase L. sakei [137]
Macrophage subset cell line Increase and decrease (subset-specific) L. casei Shirota [139]
[140]
THP-1 cell line Decrease L. reuteri [144]
IL-6 (Pro-inflammatory) PBMCs Increase L.rhamnosus
L. bulgaricus
S. pyogenes 		[121]
Epithelial cells Increase B. lactis Bb12
L. casei CRL431
L. helveticus R389		 [145]
[146]
PBMCs Decrease L. casei Shirota [129]
IL-10 (Anti-inflammatory) PBMCs Increase Bifidobacteria DNA [147]
[123]
Bifidobacteria [142]
B. longum W11 [127]
L. fermentum [143]
L. acidophilus
L. plantarum strains		 [130]
L. acidophilus
L. reuteri 		[132]
PBMC-NK cells Increase B. bifidum
VSL#3
L. reuteri 		[147]
[115]
Blood-DCs Increase L. plantarum
Mo-DCs Increase L. casei
L. rhamnosus
Bifidobacteria		 [148]
[149]
Mo-DCs Increase B. infantis [150]
Mo-DCs, mDCs, pDCs Increase
PBMCs Decrease L. casei Shirota [129]

Overview of studies documenting the probiotic strain-specific effects on the pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-1β and IL-6) and the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10. All studies are human studies utilising a range of cell sources: peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), NK cells, DCs, THP-1 pro-monocytic cell line, macrophage subsets and intestinal epithelial cells.