NF-κB- and AP-1-Mediated Induction of Human Beta Defensin-2 in Intestinal Epithelial Cells byEscherichia coliNissle 1917: a Novel Effect of a Probiotic Bacterium

Little is known about the defensive mechanisms induced in epithelial cells by pathogenic versus probiotic bacteria. The aim of our study was to compare probiotic bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 with nonprobiotic, pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria with respect to innate defense mechanisms in the intestinal mucosal cell. Here we report that E. coli strain Nissle 1917 and a variety of other probiotic bacteria, including...