Mast cells play a critical role in immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated allergic diseases, and the degranulation of mast cells is important in the pathogenesis of these diseases. A disturbance of the intestinal microflora, especially of endogenous lactic acid bacteria, might be a contributing factor for IgE-mediated allergic diseases. Additional knowledge regarding the interaction of human intestinal Lactobacilli with mast cells is still necessary. Twenty-three strains of Lactobacilli, including commercial and reference strains and strains from the human intestine, were tested for their ability to regulate degranulation of cells from rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells (RBL-2H3) in vitro based on a β-hexosaminidase release assay. Each of the tested Lactobacilli characteristically suppressed IgE-mediated degranulation of RBL-2H3 cells, and Lactobacillus GG showed the strongest inhibitory effect on the cells. Furthermore, the bacteria isolated from the human intestine significantly suppressed degranulation of RBL-2H3 cellsin comparison with the reference strains. These results suggest that Lactobacilli, particularly those from the human intestine, can affect the activation of mast cells in a strain-dependent manner. Further study should be conducted to analyse the understanding mechanism.
Keywords: IgE-mediated allergy; Lactobacilli; degranulation; mast cell.