CIIC Research Assistant Tejasri Yarlagadda recently had the opportunity to present at #MIMS2023 held in Noosa and was awarded the best poster prize for her work on understanding the interactions between probiotic bacteria and respiratory viruses in the epithelium of the upper respiratory tract.
Tejasri’s research investigates the impact of probiotic (Lactobacillus rhamnosus) exposure of nasal epithelial cells (NECs) on rhinovirus virus replication and shedding, and innate immune responses. The research found that pre-exposure with probiotic L. rhamnosus did not modulate virus replication and shedding or interferon production in response to rhinovirus infection in NECs. However, pre-exposure with the probiotic did reduce the inflammatory response (IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, MIP-1β and TNF-α), at peak viral infection. Overall, the data suggests that pre-exposure with L. rhamnosus reduces rhinovirus-induced inflammation.