Frontiers in Virology (Mar 2023)

Oral intake of heat-killed Lactiplantibacillus pentosus ONRICb0240 partially protects mice against SARS-CoV-2 infection

  • Maki Kiso,
  • Ryuta Uraki,
  • Ryuta Uraki,
  • Mutsumi Ito,
  • Seiya Yamayoshi,
  • Seiya Yamayoshi,
  • Yoshifumi Kotani,
  • Masaki Imai,
  • Masaki Imai,
  • Noriyuki Kohda,
  • Yoshihiro Kawaoka,
  • Yoshihiro Kawaoka,
  • Yoshihiro Kawaoka,
  • Yoshihiro Kawaoka

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fviro.2023.1137133
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3

Abstract

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Besides vaccines and antiviral drugs, probiotics have attracted attention for prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we examined the efficacy of heat-killed Lactiplantibacillus pentosus ONRICb0240 (b240) against SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice. We observed that oral intake of heat-killed b240 did not affect virus titers in the respiratory organs of SARS-CoV-2-infected mice, but did provide partial protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition, heat-killed b240 treatment suppressed the expression of IL-6, a key proinflammatory cytokine, on Day 2 post-infection. Our results highlight the promising protective role of heat-killed b240 and suggest a possible mechanism by which heat-killed b240 partially protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection by modulating host responses.

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