Oral supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus CGMCC 1.3724 prevents development of atopic dermatitis in NC/NgaTnd mice possibly by modulating local production of IFN-γ

Prevalence of allergies has increased during the last two decades. Alteration of the gut microbiota composition is thought to play a crucial role in development of atopic diseases. Oral administration of probiotics has been reported to treat and/or prevent symptoms of atopic diseases in infants, but the results are still controversial. We investigated the potential efficacy of dietary interventions by a probiotic strain on prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) in a human-like AD model, NC/NgaTnd mice by perinatal administration. Pregnant NC/NgaTnd mice were orally treated with the probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus CGMCC 1.3724 (LPR), which was followed by treatment of pups until 12 weeks of age. LPR-treated mice exhibited significant lower clinical symptoms of dermatitis, reduced scratching frequency, lower levels of plasma total Immunoglobulin E and higher levels of interferon-gamma in skin biopsies, compared with untreated mice. The protective effect was also observed when mice started to be treated at weaning time (5 weeks of age) even with limited supplementation period of 2 weeks. However, treatment of mice with the probiotic starting 1 week after the onset of the disease (8 weeks of age) had limited effects. The usefulness of LPR for primary prevention of AD was supported.