Lipoteichoic Acid Isolated from Weissella cibaria Increases Cytokine Production in Human Monocyte-Like THP-1 Cells and Mouse Splenocytes.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have beneficial effects on intestinal health and skin diseases. Lipoteichoic acid (LTA)， a cell wall component of gram-positive bacteria， is known to induce the production of several cytokines such as TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-8 and affect the intestinal microflora， anti-aging， sepsis， and cholesterol level. In this study， Weissella cibaria was isolated from Indian dairy products， and we examined its immune-enhancing effects. Live and heatkilled W. cibaria did not induce the secretion of immune-related cytokines， whereas LTA isolated from W. cibaria (cLTA) significantly increased the secretion of TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-6 in a dose-dependent manner. cLTA increased the phosphorylation of nuclear factor kappalight-chain-enhancer of activated B cells， p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases， and c-Jun N-terminal kinases in THP-1 cells. The secretion of TNF-α and IL-6 was also increased in the cLTA-treated mouse splenocytes. These results suggest that cLTA， but not W. cibaria whole cells， has immune-boosting potential and can be used to treat immunosuppression diseases.