Saccharomyces cerevisiae modulates immune gene expressions and inhibits ETEC-mediated ERK1/2 and p38 signaling pathways in intestinal epithelial cells.

Background Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infections result in large economic losses in the swine industry worldwide. ETEC infections cause pro-inflammatory responses in intestinal epithelial cells and subsequent diarrhea in pigs, leading to reduced growth rate and mortality. Administration of probiotics as feed additives displayed health benefits against intestinal infections. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc) is non-commensal and non-pathogenic yeast used as probiotic in gastrointestinal diseases. However, the immuno-modulatory effects of Sc in differentiated porcine intestinal epithelial cells exposed to ETEC were not investigated.