Original title: Probiotics Mechanism of Action on Immune Cells and Beneficial Effects on Human Health
Your intestine contains immune cells and resident microbes that constantly affect one another. Probiotic bacteria can interact with both and may change specific immune functions. The immune system must balance tolerance, or not reacting unnecessarily, with responses to threats. This review gathers research on how probiotics may influence that balance, while noting that the mechanisms are only partly known.
Imagine a family sharing a kitchen, where everyone’s habits affect how smoothly the next person can cook. The hard part is keeping things orderly without stopping anyone from doing what they need. In this paper, the family members are gut microbes and immune cells, and the review gathers what is known about how probiotic bacteria affect their interactions and immune balance.
The gut’s immune cells and resident microbes help keep immune activity balanced. Understanding how probiotics interact with them could guide ways to support immune function, but the review says the mechanisms are only partly described.
The review does not establish that probiotics improve immune health in every person or condition. It notes that relatively few studies have focused on immune-modulatory effects, and that the mechanisms behind interactions between probiotics and host immune cells are only partly described.
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Probiotics Mechanism of Action on Immune Cells and Beneficial Effects on Human Health — Chiara Mazziotta, Mauro G. Tognon, Fernanda Martini et al. — Cells — doi:10.3390/cells12010184
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.