Food Bioscience ( IF 5.2 ) Pub Date : 2020-05-22 , DOI: 10.1016/j.fbio.2020.100656 Wei Zhao , Yangshuo Liu , Lai-Yu Kwok , Tiequan Cai , Wenyi Zhang
In vitro and in vivo trials have shown strong evidence of an active role for the bacterium Lactobacillus acidophilus in immune regulation. This study aimed to review the immune functions of L. acidophilus. Literature searches were done using Medline, SCI, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan-Fang data, and Chinese Biological Medical databases. Review Manager (version 5.3) was used to organize and do statistical analysis on data obtained from randomized controlled trials. A P value < 0.05 in confidence interval was considered statistically significant. The number of subjects included in the meta-analysis was 1171. Mean differences observed between probiotic-receivers and controls at the 95% confidence interval: cluster of differentiation (CD)4+, 4.55% (3.62–5.49; P < 0.01); CD4+/CD8+, 0.41% (0.30–0.52; P < 0.01); interleukin (IL)-6, −0.15 ng/mL (−0.19 to −0.10; P < 0.01); immunoglobulin (Ig)A, 10.2 g/L (6.8–13.7; P < 0.01); tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, −2.45 pg/mL (−4.81 to −0.09; P < 0.05). Results suggested that L. acidophilus might modulate subjects' immunity.