Abstract
Probiotics are living microorganisms increasingly used to treat or modulate different diseases or disorders because of their benefits and also low adverse reaction, and their positive and protective effects on various cells and tissues have been reported. The mechanisms by which probiotics exert their beneficial effects in different cells and tissues were investigated, and autophagy is one of the main mechanisms to induce their positive effects. Autophagy is a conserved process that occurs in all eukaryotic cells and plays an essential role in homeostasis and cell survival by degrading damaged and dysfunctional intracellular organelles. On the other hand, the role of autophagy is diverse in different tissues and situations, and cell death derived from autophagy has been observed in some cells. This search was done in PubMed, WOS, and Scopus using the keywords probiotic, microbiota, and autophagy. The search strategy was focused on the in vitro and animal model studies, and the included filters were English language publications and full-text articles (by June 2020). Studies that investigated other underlying mechanisms except autophagy were excluded. Among more than 105 papers, 24 studies were considered eligible for more evaluation. The obtained results indicated that most studies were performed on intestinal cell lines or tissue compared with other types of cell lines and tissue. This review article discusses our current understanding of the probiotic effects through autophagy in different cell lines and tissues that would be a useful guide to daily and clinical usage of these living microorganisms, but despite promising results of this systematic review, further studies need to assess this issue. This systematic review has demonstrated that autophagy is an effective mechanism in inducing beneficial effects of probiotics in different tissues.
Highlights
Probiotics are living microorganisms whose extraordinary and protective effects on various cells and tissues have been described [1]
The role of autophagy is diverse in BioMed Research International different tissues and situations, and autophagy-dependent cell death has been observed in some cells following overloaded autophagy [22, 23], and in the same context, the role of impaired autophagy has been shown in some diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), tuberculosis neurodegeneration, and aging [13]
After the initial reading of articles, 35 papers were reviewed and excluded (Figure 1); among them, 12 articles had investigated the effects of probiotics through induction of autophagy in vitro (Table 1) and 16 articles were related to the effects of probiotics on an animal model organ via autophagy (Table 2)
Summary
Probiotics are living microorganisms whose extraordinary and protective effects on various cells and tissues have been described [1]. The role of autophagy is diverse in BioMed Research International different tissues and situations, and autophagy-dependent cell death has been observed in some cells following overloaded autophagy [22, 23], and in the same context, the role of impaired autophagy has been shown in some diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), tuberculosis neurodegeneration, and aging [13] Overall, it is unclear whether autophagy is a protective response or a deleterious process, but it is clear that uncontrolled autophagy can lead to adverse effects in certain pathological conditions, causing cell death [13]. Macro- and microautophagies occur in a wide range of eukaryotes including mammals, plants, and fungi and lead to the degradation of portions, which may include cell organelles [24]
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