%0 Journal Article
%T Probiotic lactobacillus and estrogen effects on vaginal epithelial gene expression responses to Candida albicans
%A Robert D Wagner
%A Shemedia J Johnson
%J Journal of Biomedical Science
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1423-0127-19-58
%X This study used quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay (qRT-PCR), flow cytometry, and a multiplex immunoassay to observe changes in the regulation of gene expression related to cytokine responses in the VK2 (E6/E7) vaginal epithelial cell line treated with 17汕-estradiol, exposed to probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1ˋ and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14ˋ and challenged with C. albicans. Data were statistically evaluated by repeated measures analysis of variance and paired t-tests where appropriate.C. albicans induced mRNA expression of genes related to inflammatory cytokine responses associated with nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-百B) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathways. 17汕-estradiol suppressed expression of interleukin-1汐 (IL-1汐), IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF汐) mRNA. Probiotic lactobacilli suppressed C. albicans-induced nuclear factor-kappa B inhibitor kinase kinase alpha (I百百汐), Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2), TLR6, IL-8, and TNF汐, also suggesting inhibition of NF-百B signaling. The lactobacilli induced expression of IL-1汐, and IL-1汕 mRNA, which was not inhibited by curcumin, suggesting that they induce an alternate inflammatory signal transduction pathway to NF-百B, such as the mitogen activated protein kinase and activator protein-1 (MAPK/AP-1) signal transduction pathway. Curcumin inhibited IL-13 secretion, suggesting that expression of this cytokine is mainly regulated by NF-百B signaling in VK2 cells.The results suggest that C. albicans infection induces pro-inflammatory responses in vaginal epithelial cells, and estrogen and lactobacilli suppress expression of NF-百B-related inflammatory genes. Probiotic lactobacilli may induce IL-1汐 and IL-1汕 expression by an alternate signal transduction pathway, such as MAPK/AP-1. Activation of alternate signaling mechanisms by lactobacilli to modify epithelial cell cytokine production may be a mechanism for probiotic modulation of morbidity in vulvo
%K Probiotic
%K Epithelial cells
%K Gene expression
%K Signal transduction genes
%K Candidiasis
%K Estrogen
%U http://www.jbiomedsci.com/content/19/1/58/abstract