{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T21:16:11Z","timestamp":1790198171863,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,22]],"date-time":"2025-05-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747872000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Dysbiosis of gut microbiota and loss of gut-barrier integrity contribute to the development and severity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The available treatments pose a burden of major adverse effects and new treatment strategies are therefore the need of time. In this study, <jats:italic>Pediococcus acidilactici<\/jats:italic> NMCC-B (Probiotic) was evaluated for its safety and efficacy in complete Freund\u2019s adjuvant (CFA)-induced mice model of RA. Mice were treated with either <jats:italic>Escherichia coli<\/jats:italic> (1\u2009\u00d7\u200910<jats:sup>9<\/jats:sup> CFU\/ml) or <jats:italic>P. acidilactici<\/jats:italic> NMCC-B (1\u2009\u00d7\u200910<jats:sup>9<\/jats:sup> CFU\/ml, 2\u2009\u00d7\u200910<jats:sup>9<\/jats:sup> CFU\/ml) to assess acute, sub-acute, and chronic toxicities. In RA model, mice were either pre-treated with daily dose of <jats:italic>P. acidilactici<\/jats:italic> NMCC-B or treated concurrently (day 1\u2013day 27) or post-treated (day 28\u2013day 42). <jats:italic>P. acidilactici<\/jats:italic> NMCC-B inhibited gut permeability, lessened joint inflammation, and ameliorated RA progression. No signs of toxicity, pathogenicity or bacterial translocation were observed in animals treated with probiotic. <jats:italic>P. acidilactici<\/jats:italic> NMCC-B also restored total body weight, attenuated inflammation, improved antioxidants, alleviated soft tissue swelling, bone damage, and the expression of IL-1\u03b2, NF-\u03baB and TNF-\u03b1 in paw tissue. Based on current findings, it is perceivable that <jats:italic>P. acidilactici<\/jats:italic> NMCC-B could be a promising candidate for the management of RA.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0324060","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,22]],"date-time":"2025-05-22T17:42:06Z","timestamp":1747935726000},"page":"e0324060","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Comprehensive safety assessment and therapeutic potential of Pediococcus acidilactici NMCC-B in attenuating arthritis progression"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Tayyaba","family":"Zulfiqar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad Khalid","family":"Tipu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad Tariq","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9202-3909","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Amr S.","family":"Abouzied","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bassam S. 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