Probiotics in livestock feed supplements are considered to be an alternative to antibiotics. However, effector molecules responsible for the beneficial roles of probiotics in pigs are in general not well known. Thus, this study demonstrated that a well-known virulence factor, flagellin of Salmonella typhimurium, significantly induced IL-8 production in porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells, whereas lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a major cell wall component of Gram-positive bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum, L. casei, and L. rhamnosus GG, effectively inhibited flagellin-induced IL-8 production at mRNA and protein levels. However, the lipoproteins of L. plantarum, L. casei, and L. rhamnosus GG did not suppress flagellin-induced IL-8 production. While D-alanine-deficient L. plantarum LTA inhibited flagellin-induced IL-8 production, L. plantarum LTA deficient in both D-alanine and acyl chains failed to inhibit it; this suggests that the acyl moieties of L. plantarum LTA are essential for inhibiting flagellin-induced IL-8 production. Taken together, L. plantarum LTA plays an important role in improving anti-inflammatory responses of porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

家畜饲料补充剂中的益生菌被认为是抗生素的替代品。但是，负责益生菌在猪中有益作用的效应分子通常是未知的。因此，这项研究表明，众所周知的毒力因子鼠伤寒沙门氏菌鞭毛蛋白可显着诱导猪外周血单核细胞中IL-8的产生，而脂蛋白酸（LTA）是革兰氏阳性细菌植物乳杆菌的主要细胞壁成分。，干酪乳杆菌和鼠李糖乳杆菌GG在mRNA和蛋白水平上有效抑制鞭毛蛋白诱导的IL-8产生。但是，植物乳杆菌，干酪乳杆菌和鼠李糖乳杆菌GG没有抑制鞭毛蛋白诱导的IL-8产生。虽然缺乏D-丙氨酸的植物乳杆菌LTA抑制鞭毛蛋白诱导的IL-8产生，但是缺乏D-丙氨酸和酰基链的植物乳杆菌LTA却不能抑制它。这表明植物乳杆菌LTA的酰基部分对于抑制鞭毛蛋白诱导的IL-8产生是必不可少的。总之，植物乳杆菌LTA在改善猪外周血单核细胞的抗炎反应中起重要作用。