Perinatal Treatment with a Probiotic Escherichia coli Strain for the Prevention of Airway Inflammation in Mice

Clinical studies have demonstrated that application of the probiotic Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain O83 effectively prevented the development of allergic diseases in children with familial predispositions. The aim or our recent study is to investigate the impact of perinatal exposure to E. coli O83 on the development of allergic airway inflammation in a mouse model. In particular, we will test whether perinatal exposure to this probiotic strain induces epigenetic changes associated with allergy-protective effects in the offspring. Firstly, we tested the immunomodulatory properties of E. coli O83 in vitro. Incubation of mouse splenocytes and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells with E. coli O83 led to the induction of IFNγ and IL-12, respectively, suggesting Th1-biased immunomodulatory properties of this strain. In order to analyze potential histone modifications in T cells, we established the technique of chromatin immunoprecipitation by using an in vitro model of CD4+ T cell polarization. In the context of this study we wish to characterize potential cellular, molecular and epigenetic mechanism that might be involved in the prevention of allergy by probiotic bacteria.