Fig. 2.

Cytokine production by dendritic cells (DC) upon exposure to probiotic bacteria. Mature DC (day 8 of culture) were stimulated overnight with CD40-ligand transfected J558 cells to induce production of cytokines. Interleukin (IL)-12, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-6 were measured in supernatants by multiplex assay. Data represent mean cytokine production ± standard error of the mean (n = 7). Compared to maturation factors (MF) matured DC or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-matured DC the presence of the four tested strains during maturation did not have any statistically significant effect (P > 0·05) on the production of IL-12, TNF-α and IL-6 by DC. Statistical analysis was performed by Mann–Whitney U-test.