Salivary IgA response to probiotic bacteria and mutans streptococci after the use of chewing gum containing Lactobacillus reuteri

• Published in: Pathogens and disease 2013-08, Vol.68 (3), p.82-87
• Main Authors: Ericson, Dan, Hamberg, Kristina, Bratthall, Gunilla, Sinkiewicz-Enggren, Gabriela, Ljunggren, Lennart
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptive immunity; Adolescent; Adult; Antibodies; Bacteria; Chewing gum; Chewing Gum - microbiology; Dosage; Double-Blind Method; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Immune response; Immunoglobulin A; Immunoglobulin A - immunology; Immunoglobulins; Ingestion; Lactobacillus reuteri; Lactobacillus reuteri - immunology; Levels; mutans streptococci; Placebos - administration & dosage; Pretreatment; Probiotics; Probiotics - administration & dosage; Proteins; Saliva; Saliva - immunology; salivary IgA; Streptococcus; Streptococcus infections; Streptococcus mutans - immunology; Streptococcus sobrinus - immunology; Treatment Outcome; Yogurt; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2049-632X; 2049-632X
• DOI: 10.1111/2049-632X.12048

Abstract We investigated whether ingestion of probiotic bacteria could influence salivary IgA levels, specific anti-mutans streptococci IgA levels and specific antibodies towards the ingested probiotic bacterium. The study was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, where the test group ( n = 11) received twice daily chewing of gum containing Lactobacillus reuteri (2 × 10 8 CFU per dose) and the control group ( n = 12) received placebo. Resting saliva was collected before and after 12 weeks of treatment and 4 weeks after end of treatment. Total salivary IgA concentrations were measured by ELISA. Specific IgA reactivity was determined using a whole-cell ELISA. Results were expressed as % IgA per protein in saliva. The level of total IgA% per protein increased significantly between pretreatment levels (13.5%) and follow-up treatment levels (14.4%) within the test group only ( P < 0.05). No changes were seen in the control group during the trial. The level of probiotic-reactive antibodies decreased significantly between pre- and post-treatment samples (from 12.2% to 9.0%, P < 0.05) in the test group. Similarly, the level of specific mutans streptococci antibodies decreased significantly between pre- and post-treatment samples ( P < 0.05) in the test group only (for Streptococcus mutans from 20.1% to 15.0%; for Streptococcus sobrinus from 7.4% to 5.3%). Ingestion of probiotic bacteria might influence the adaptive immune response of the host. In this small-scale random controlled trial, the authors have tested the effect of the probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus reuteri , instilled into chewing gum versus a placebo. They found that the probiotic intervention did indeed affect salivary IgA concentration thus indicating an effect on local immunity, and providing yet another effective approach to the delivery of probiotics.