The aim of this study was to demonstrate the capacity of probiotic lactobacilli to hydrolyze immunogenic gluten peptides. Eighteen commercial strains of probiotic lactobacilli with highly variable peptidase activity (i.e., aminopeptidase N, iminopeptidase, prolyl endopeptidyl peptidase, tripeptidase, prolidase, prolinase and dipeptidase), including towards Pro-rich peptides, were tested in this study. Ten probiotic strains were selected based on their specific enzyme activity. When pooled, these ten strains provide the peptidase portfolio that is required to completely degrade the immunogenic gluten peptides involved in celiac disease (CD). The selected probiotic mixture was able to completely hydrolyze well-known immunogenic epitopes, including the gliadin 33-mer, α9-gliadin peptide 57-68, A-gliadin peptide 62-75, and γ-gliadin peptide 62-75. During digestion under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, the pool of 10 selected probiotic lactobacilli strongly hydrolyzed the wheat bread gluten (ca. 18.000 ppm) to less than 10 ppm after 360 min of treatment. As determined by multidimensional chromatography (MDLC) coupled to nanoelectrospray (ESI)-mass spectrometry (MS/MS), no known immunogenic peptides were detected in wheat bread that was digested in the presence of the probiotics. Accordingly, the level of cytokines (IL-2, IL-10 and IFN-γ) produced by duodenal biopsies of CD patients who consumed wheat bread digested by probiotics was similar to the baseline value (negative control). Probiotics that specifically hydrolyze gluten polypeptides could also be used to hydrolyze immunogenic peptides that contaminate gluten-free products. This could provide a new and safe adjunctive therapy alternative to the gluten-free diet.IMPORTANCE This study confirmed that probiotic Lactobacillus strains have different enzymatic abilities for hydrolyzing polypeptides, including the Pro-rich epitopes involved in CD pathology. Ten lactobacilli with complementary peptidase activities that hydrolyze gluten peptides during simulated gastrointestinal digestion were selected and tested. The results collected showed the potential of probiotic formulas as novel dietary treatments for CD patients.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 27. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 27 August 2026.
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#1,812,132
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Outputs from Applied and Environmental Microbiology
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Outputs of similar age from Applied and Environmental Microbiology
#17
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Altmetric has tracked 34,324,933 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 94th percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 22,758 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 9.1. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 140 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 87% of its contemporaries.
