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Studies on Lactic Acid Bacteria and Their Products in Health and Diseases: 3rd Edition

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 1370

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Grassland and Forages Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Cheonan 31000, Republic of Korea
Interests: obesity; muscle cells; adipocytes; biological role of natural compounds
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are ubiquitous microorganisms that can be found in many natural sources such as plants, mammal’s intestinal mucosa, and fermented foods. They are generally recognized as safe for food applications. Direct supplementation of LAB as probiotics or LAB-driven fermented products poses a wide range of health-promoting effects on molecular and metabolic processes in humans and animals, including protection against infection-causing agents, free radical-scavenging effects, targeting obesity and related metabolic diseases, anti-diabetes activity, immunomodulatory and allergy reaction mediation, anti-cancer effects, prevention of antibiotic-associated complications, reduction in blood pressure, modulation of gut-associated microbial population, enhancing nutrient utilization, etc. Therefore, the current Special Issue will bring together recent research on the role of LAB in the prevention/management of metabolic diseases and disorders, with the aim of producing a better understanding of its biological mechanisms. The different disciplinary topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Probiotic LAB;
  • Nutrition;
  • Gut-associated microbes;
  • Metabolic diseases and disorders;
  • Carbohydrate and fat metabolisms;
  • Insulin-resistance and sensitivity;
  • Free radicals, antioxidants, hepatoprotective processes;
  • Myogenesis, adipogenesis, osteogenesis;
  • Nutrient utilization;
  • Immunomodulation and inflammation.

Dr. Ilavenil Soundharrajan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • lactic acid bacteria

  • probiotics health benefits
  • gut microbiota modulation
  • functional foods with biological applications
  • immunomodulatory mechanisms
  • antimicrobial peptide production and its mechanisms
  • host-microbe interactions
  • functional dairy and meat products
  • inflammatory bowel diseases
  • metabolic health improvement
  • bioactive microbial metabolites
  • food safety and management
  • metabolic diseases and disorders
  • antibiotic-associated complications

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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30 pages, 1009 KB  
Review
Advances in Genetic Transformation of Lactic Acid Bacteria: Overcoming Barriers and Enhancing Plasmid Tools
by Aleksei S. Rozanov, Leonid A. Shaposhnikov, Kseniya D. Bondarenko and Alexey E. Sazonov
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(18), 9146; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26189146 - 19 Sep 2025
Viewed by 986
Abstract
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are central to food fermentation, probiotic delivery, and emerging synthetic biology applications, yet their robust cell envelopes and restriction–modification systems complicate DNA uptake. This review synthesizes practical routes for introducing DNA into LAB—natural competence, electroporation, conjugation, phage-mediated transduction, and [...] Read more.
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are central to food fermentation, probiotic delivery, and emerging synthetic biology applications, yet their robust cell envelopes and restriction–modification systems complicate DNA uptake. This review synthesizes practical routes for introducing DNA into LAB—natural competence, electroporation, conjugation, phage-mediated transduction, and biolistics—and outlines vector systems for expression and chromosomal editing, including food-grade strategies. We highlight recent advances that broaden strain tractability while noting strain-to-strain variability and host-specific barriers that still require tailored solutions. These advances directly enable applications in food and probiotic biotechnology, including improving starter robustness, tailoring flavor and texture pathways, and installing food-grade traits without residual selection markers. We close with near-term priorities for standardizing protocols, widening replicon compatibility, and leveraging modern genome-editing platforms to accelerate safe, marker-free engineering of industrial and probiotic LAB. Full article
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16 pages, 5831 KB  
Article
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HY7718 Attenuates Renal Injury in an Adenine-Induced Chronic Kidney Disease Mouse Model via Inhibition of Inflammation and Apoptosis
by Hyeonji Kim, Ji-Woong Jeong, Haeryn Jeong, Daehyeop Lee, Hyeonjun Gwon, Kippuem Lee, Joo-Yun Kim, Jae-Jung Shim and Jae-Hwan Lee
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(20), 10052; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms262010052 - 15 Oct 2025
Viewed by 183
Abstract
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes a variety of health problems including renal dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate whether the probiotic strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HY7718 (HY7718) can protect against CKD using HK2 cells and a CKD mouse model, generated by [...] Read more.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes a variety of health problems including renal dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate whether the probiotic strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HY7718 (HY7718) can protect against CKD using HK2 cells and a CKD mouse model, generated by feeding mice a diet containing 0.15% adenine. In vitro tests showed that HY7718 was anti-inflammatory in H2O2-treated HK2 cells and reduced apoptosis of tumor necrosis factor-α/cycloheximide-induced HK2 cells. In the adenine-induced CKD model, markers of renal dysfunction (blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Crea)) and inorganic calcium and phosphorus were markedly increased. However, oral administration of HY7718 (108 colony-forming units/kg/day) significantly attenuated these increases. HY7718 also reduced the kidney histopathological score, including tubular necrosis, cast formation, and tubular dilatation, as well as the mononuclear cell infiltration score in kidney tissue, suggesting that it could reverse the progression of CKD. Additionally, HY7718 downregulated the renal expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes and members of the TLR/NF-κB signaling pathway. Furthermore, HY7718 reduced tubule apoptotic cells and expression of apoptosis-related genes, indicating that it is potentially renoprotective. These results demonstrate that supplementation with the probiotic HY7718 can ameliorate CKD symptoms by improving renal function and reducing kidney injury. Full article
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