Paraprobiotics from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and fungal β-glucan from Lignosus rhinocerus synergistically enhance macrophage activation in vitro

Arch Microbiol. 2025 Aug 6;207(9):216. doi: 10.1007/s00203-025-04416-x.

Abstract

This study evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of paraprobiotics from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum TSUB-17 and β-glucan extracted from Lignosus rhinocerus mycelium using RAW 264.7 macrophages. β-glucan was produced under optimized conditions (31.5 °C, 13.5% potato powder, 13% glucose), yielding 44.7 g/L biomass with 33.60% β-glucan. NMR and FESEM confirmed its structural similarity to commercial β-glucan. β-glucan significantly reduced nitric oxide (NO) levels and proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6) while increasing anti-inflammatory markers IL-10 and TGF-β. Paraprobiotics strongly induced TNF-α and IL-6 but had limited anti-inflammatory effects. Co-treatment resulted in moderated proinflammatory and enhanced anti-inflammatory responses, with a synergistic increase in TGF-β. This is the first report of the synergistic immunomodulatory interaction between sonicated paraprobiotics and L. rhinocerus β-glucan. The results suggest potential applications in functional foods or therapeutic formulations to modulate inflammation and promote immune balance.

Keywords: Anti-Inflammatory cytokines; Cytokines production; Immunomodulatory; Proinflammatory cytokines; Tiger milk mushroom.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • Interleukin-10 / metabolism
  • Lactiplantibacillus plantarum
  • Macrophage Activation* / drug effects
  • Macrophages* / drug effects
  • Macrophages* / immunology
  • Mice
  • Mycelium / chemistry
  • Nitric Oxide / metabolism
  • Polyporaceae* / chemistry
  • RAW 264.7 Cells
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta / metabolism
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism
  • beta-Glucans* / chemistry
  • beta-Glucans* / isolation & purification
  • beta-Glucans* / metabolism
  • beta-Glucans* / pharmacology

Substances

  • beta-Glucans
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Cytokines
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta
  • Interleukin-10