Differential regulation of T cell responses by pathogenic and apathogenic microorganisms.

This work characterizes T cell responses of the immune system to pathogenic or apathogenic microorganisms such as yeast or lactic acid bacteria. Using the disease model of chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis it has been shown that including a defect innate immune response deregulated T cell responses, particularly Th17 cells, cause fungal infections such as Candida albicans to become chronic pathogenic. Moreover it has been demonstrated that selected apathogenic lactic acid bacteria strains induce different T cell responses. Of particular interest is the shift of the immune system towards a regulatory T cell phenotype in the presence of lactic acid bacteria. This experimental finding is now of special interest concerning the use of these bacteria for the prevention or treatment of various diseases and for the processing in probiotic products