Membrane Vesicles from Lactobacillus acidophilus Promote Superior Cytokine Modulation and Antimicrobial Signaling Compared with Their Whole Cells in RAW 264.7 Macrophages.

2026-03-18
International journal of molecular sciences 27(6)

PubMed: 41898624
DOI: 10.3390/ijms27062764

Study Design

Population: RAW 264.7 macrophages
Methods: evaluated whether MVs derived from Lactobacillus acidophilus promote superior modulation of cytokine production and antimicrobial signaling in RAW 264.7 macrophages compared with whole cells

Rigorous Journal
Animal Study

The interaction between probiotic bacteria and the innate immune system is of increasing interest due to its capacity to modulate inflammatory and antimicrobial responses. The murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 is widely used to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of probiotic bacteria and their cell-free derivatives, such as membrane vesicles (MVs). In this study, we evaluated whether MVs derived from Lactobacillus acidophilus promote superior modulation of cytokine production and antimicrobial signaling in RAW 264.7 macrophages compared with whole cells (WCs). Our results show that L. acidophilus MVs exhibited direct bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli and induced a more selective and balanced cytokine profile than whole cells. These findings highlight the potential of probiotic-derived membrane vesicles as acellular immunomodulatory effectors for the development of novel cell-free biotherapeutic strategies.

Research Insights

Supplement	Dose	Health Outcome	Effect Type	Effect Size	Source
Lactobacillus acidophilus La-14	—	Balanced Cytokine Response	Beneficial	Moderate	View source induced a more selective and balanced cytokine profile than whole cells.
Lactobacillus acidophilus La-14	—	Enhanced Innate Immune Function	Beneficial	Moderate	View source MVs derived from Lactobacillus acidophilus promote superior modulation of cytokine production and antimicrobial signaling in RAW 264.7 macrophages compared with whole cells (WCs).