Abstract

We evaluated the effects of probiotic supplementation with a low-calorie diet on the gene expression of mediators of the immune system among overweight and obese individuals; participants were randomly divided into three groups of 25 each: group 1 consumed conventional yogurt with a low-calorie diet (CLCD); group 2 consumed probiotic yogurt with a low-calorie diet (PLCD) and group 3 consumed probiotic yogurt without a low calorie diet (PWLCD) for 8 weeks. Probiotic yogurt contained Lactobacillus acidophilus LAS, Lactobacillus casei DN001, Bifidobacterium lauds Bb12 and Streptococcus thermophiles (10(8) CFU/mL each). Quantitative results of RTPCR demonstrated that there was an increase in the gene expression of toll like receptor 2(TLR2) in PLCD group compared to CLCD and PWLCD groups (2.7 +/- 2.8 vs. 0.9 +/- 0.8, 1.9 +/- 1.6, respectively, P = 0.001) as well as an increase in FOXP3 gene in PLCD group compared to the other groups (11.2 +/- 6.7 vs. 6 +/- 2.5, 6.3 +/- 1.9, respectively, P < 0.001). Our study demonstrated that the 8-week consumption of PLCD among overweight and obese individuals resulted in a significant up-regulation in the expression of the TLR2.