RESEARCH ARTICLE Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Lactobacillus Rahmnosus and Bifidobacterium Breve on Cigarette Smoke Activated Human

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major global health problem with ciga-rette smoke (CS) as the main risk factor for its development. Airway inflammation in COPD involves the increased expression of inflammatory mediators such as CXCL-8 and IL-1β which are important mediators for neutrophil recruitment. Macrophages are an important source of these mediators in COPD. Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus) and Befido-bacterium breve (B. breve) attenuate the development of ‘allergic asthma ’ in animals but their effects in COPD are unknown. Objective To determine the anti-inflammatory effects of L. rhamnosus and B. breve on CS and Toll-like receptor (TLR) activation. Design We stimulated the human macrophage cell line THP-1 with CS extract in the presence and absence of L. rhamnosus and B. breve and measured the expression and release of inflam