In order to clarify the effects of the Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) 11/19-B1 strain, a double-blind controlled study of yogurt fermented with the strain was carried out. For the study, two kinds of yogurt, the control and test yogurt, were prepared; the control yogurt was fermented with Streptococcus thermophiles, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus, and the test yogurt was enriched with L. lactis 11/19-B1 and Bifidobacterium lactis (B. lactis) BB-12 strains. Seventy-six volunteers who had not received treatment with pharmaceuticals were randomly divided into two groups with each group ingesting 80 g of either the test or control yogurt every day for 8 weeks. Before and after yogurt intake, fasting blood was taken and blood sugar, blood lipids, and anti-cytomegalovirus cellular immunity were estimated. In the test yogurt group, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was significantly decreased (159.1 ± 25.7 to 149.3 ± 24.4; p = 0.02), but this effect was not observed in the control yogurt group. When the test yogurt group was divided into two groups based on LDL levels of over or under 120 mg/dL, this effect was only observed in the high LDL group. No LDL-lowering effect of B. lactis BB-12 strain was previously reported; therefore, the hypocholesterolemic effects observed in this study are thought to be caused by the L. lactis 11/19-B1 strain alone or its combination with the B. lactis BB-12 strain.

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Primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy often results in congenital CMV infection with severe clinical complications. IgM antibodies are one of the indices of primary infection. The IgG avidity index (AI) is also known to remain low for 3 months after primary infection. Here, we evaluated and compared the performance of CMV IgM and IgG avidity assays. Because sensitivity and specificity reportedly differ between CMV IgM kits, CMV IgM detection was compared between the two commercially available ELISA kits that are most commonly used in Japan. Sera for CMV IgM were first screened using a traditional indirect ELISA kit. Selected samples were then tested for CMV IgM and CMV AI using a CMV IgM‐capture ELISA kit and a CMV IgG avidity assay, respectively. The rate of concordance between the IgM kits was 89% (42/47), indicating the absence of any significant difference. Most of the CMV IgM‐positive plasma samples showed high CMV IgG AI; however, 18 commercially available plasma samples with low CMV IgG AI were all CMV IgM‐positive. One plausible explanation for this discrepancy is that the duration of low IgG AI is shorter than that of IgM positivity. Alternatively, CMV IgM tests may generate pseudo‐positive readouts in cases of congenital infection. Nevertheless, our study confirms that CMV IgG AI can be a reliable indicator of CMV primary infection.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is universally distributed among humans without any adverse effects ; however, it induces severe diseases in immunocompromised patients such as organ transplant recipients and AIDS patients. To manage these immunocompromised patients, an easy clinical examination for the monitoring of disease risk is required. In this study, we modified the interferon -γ (IFN -γ) release test (QuantiFERON ® -CMV) using HCMV immediate early -1 (IE -1) or pp65 whole proteins, or UV -inactivated HCMV particles as an antigen. The response of heparinized peripheral blood from healthy volunteers to the pp65 protein showed an obvious dose -dependent sigmoid curve, although no correlation was observed between results of this assay and an ELISPOT assay. The addition of pp65 to the blood samples at a final concentration of 1×10 3 to 1× 10 5 pg/ml was found to be optimum. Using this assay, we observed a significant enhancement in cellular immunity in volunteers after the daily ingestion of yogurt for 8 weeks, which suggested a novel application of the assay in addition to monitoring HCMV infection risk. IFN -γ secretion from peripheral blood cells on HCMV -antigen stimulation differed significantly between individuals ; therefore, the assay could not be normalized. Nevertheless, it was found to be particularly useful for observing fluctuations in cellular immune activity on an individual level.

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