{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T11:47:44Z","timestamp":1785844064639,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785801600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003662","name":"Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["20025698"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20025698"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003662","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["20025698"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20025698"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03z9cwa38","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"Ministry of Education","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RS-2025-25441317"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2025-25441317"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"Ministry of Education","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NRF-2020R1A6A1A03044977"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NRF-2020R1A6A1A03044977"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"Ministry of Science and ICT","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RS-2025-02283193"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2025-02283193"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"Ministry of Science and ICT","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RS-2025-23323442"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2025-23323442"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["RS-2025-02283193"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2025-02283193"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01wpjm123","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["RS-2025-23323442"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2025-23323442"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01wpjm123","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Lactic acid bacteria-fermented food materials are promising sources of functional ingredients, but the active components underlying their bioactivity often remain unclear. We localized the macrophage-stimulatory activity of a red pepper-based fermentate prepared with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CJLP243. Compared with the unfermented matrix and a non-fermented matrix supplemented with freeze-dried CJLP243, the fermentate induced greater IL-6 and TNF-\u03b1 production in J774A.1 macrophages. Activity was reproducibly concentrated in the pellet-derived lysate-insoluble fraction (PDIF) and remained in residual debris after solvent extraction. LTA-directed fractionation and analytical screening did not support lipoteichoic acid as the principal determinant. Lysozyme markedly reduced activity, whereas proteinase K had a partial effect, a pattern consistent with a lysozyme-sensitive, cell wall-associated structure or cell wall\u2013matrix complex, within which peptidoglycan-associated material remains a plausible candidate; contributions from co-associated components cannot be excluded. Targeted metabolomics revealed fermentation-associated changes in pellet-associated amino acid pools, consistent with broader adaptation of amino acid and nitrogen metabolism during fermentation; their biochemical linkage to cell-wall precursor pathways provides metabolic support rather than direct structural evidence. These findings identify a reproducible, process-linked insoluble fraction with macrophage-stimulatory activity and provide a framework for developing and standardizing fermentation-derived functional food ingredients.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15152736","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T10:38:08Z","timestamp":1785839888000},"page":"2736","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Fermentation-Dependent Cell Wall-Associated Immunostimulation in a Red Pepper-Based Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CJLP243 Fermentate"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2854-1568","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sung-Hyun","family":"Jo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Soongsil University, Seoul 06978, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Na-Youn","family":"Hong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CJ CheilJedang, Seoul 04560, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bo-Gyeong","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Soongsil University, Seoul 06978, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiwon","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Soongsil University, Seoul 06978, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suhyun","family":"Seo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Soongsil University, Seoul 06978, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gayeong","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Soongsil University, Seoul 06978, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hee-Yoon","family":"Ahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CJ CheilJedang, Seoul 04560, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ji-Hyeon","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CJ CheilJedang, Seoul 04560, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hee Taek","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yung-Hun","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jungoh","family":"Ahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Process Engineering Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju 28116, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hee-Kyoung","family":"Jung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CJ CheilJedang, Seoul 04560, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yun-Gon","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Soongsil University, Seoul 06978, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"506","DOI":"10.1038\/nrgastro.2014.66","article-title":"Expert consensus document. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic","volume":"11","author":"Hill","year":"2014","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"196","DOI":"10.1038\/s41575-020-00390-5","article-title":"The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on fermented foods","volume":"18","author":"Marco","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"649","DOI":"10.1038\/s41575-021-00440-6","article-title":"The International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on the definition and scope of postbiotics","volume":"18","author":"Salminen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"716","DOI":"10.1038\/s41591-019-0439-x","article-title":"The pros, cons, and many unknowns of probiotics","volume":"25","author":"Suez","year":"2019","journal-title":"Nat. Med."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.1038\/nrmicro2297","article-title":"Host interactions of probiotic bacterial surface molecules: Comparison with commensals and pathogens","volume":"8","author":"Lebeer","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"805","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2010.01.022","article-title":"Pattern recognition receptors and inflammation","volume":"140","author":"Takeuchi","year":"2010","journal-title":"Cell"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"898","DOI":"10.1016\/j.immuni.2014.12.010","article-title":"NOD1 and NOD2: Signaling, host defense, and inflammatory disease","volume":"41","author":"Caruso","year":"2014","journal-title":"Immunity"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1038\/nm.2087","article-title":"Recognition of peptidoglycan from the microbiota by Nod1 enhances systemic innate immunity","volume":"16","author":"Clarke","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nat. Med."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"428","DOI":"10.1038\/nature07201","article-title":"Origin and physiological roles of inflammation","volume":"454","author":"Medzhitov","year":"2008","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.1186\/1475-2859-11-116","article-title":"Influence of fermentation conditions on the surface properties and adhesion of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG","volume":"11","author":"Deepika","year":"2012","journal-title":"Microb. Cell Factories"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"837","DOI":"10.1128\/MMBR.00076-15","article-title":"Stress physiology of lactic acid bacteria","volume":"80","author":"Papadimitriou","year":"2016","journal-title":"Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S9","DOI":"10.1186\/1475-2859-13-S1-S9","article-title":"Cell wall structure and function in lactic acid bacteria","volume":"13","author":"Kulakauskas","year":"2014","journal-title":"Microb. Cell Factories"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"538","DOI":"10.1093\/femsre\/fuaa021","article-title":"Cell wall homeostasis in lactic acid bacteria: Threats and defences","volume":"44","author":"Kulakauskas","year":"2020","journal-title":"FEMS Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e03001","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.03001-16","article-title":"Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum strain OLL2712 culture conditions on the anti-inflammatory activities for murine immune cells and obese and type 2 diabetic mice","volume":"83","author":"Toshimitsu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"911","DOI":"10.1139\/y59-099","article-title":"A rapid method of total lipid extraction and purification","volume":"37","author":"Bligh","year":"1959","journal-title":"Can. J. Biochem. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1084\/jem.193.3.393","article-title":"Structure\u2013function relationship of cytokine induction by lipoteichoic acid from Staphylococcus aureus","volume":"193","author":"Morath","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Exp. Med."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.1016\/j.intimp.2008.10.014","article-title":"Differential immunostimulatory effects of Gram-positive bacteria due to their lipoteichoic acids","volume":"9","author":"Ryu","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int. Immunopharmacol."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"823","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbrc.2011.03.107","article-title":"Multi-spectrometric analyses of lipoteichoic acids isolated from Lactobacillus plantarum","volume":"407","author":"Jang","year":"2011","journal-title":"Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e3078","DOI":"10.21769\/BioProtoc.3078","article-title":"Extraction and analysis of bacterial teichoic acids","volume":"8","author":"Kho","year":"2018","journal-title":"Bio-Protocol"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jo, S.-H., Jeon, H.-J., Song, W.-S., Lee, J.-S., Kwon, J.-E., Park, J.-H., Kim, Y.-R., Kim, M.-G., Baek, J.-H., and Kwon, S.-Y. (2023). Unveiling the inhibition mechanism of Clostridioides difficile by Bifidobacterium longum via multiomics approach. Front. Microbiol., 14.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2023.1293149"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kwon, J., Jo, S., Song, W., Lee, J., Jeon, H., Park, J., Kim, Y., Baek, J., Kim, M., and Kwon, S. (2022). Investigation of metabolic crosstalk between host and pathogenic Clostridioides difficile via multiomics approaches. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol., 10.","DOI":"10.3389\/fbioe.2022.971739"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"W388","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gkab382","article-title":"MetaboAnalyst 5.0: Narrowing the gap between raw spectra and functional insights","volume":"49","author":"Pang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28232","DOI":"10.1038\/srep28232","article-title":"Red pepper powder is a crucial factor that influences the ontogeny of Weissella cibaria during kimchi fermentation","volume":"6","author":"Kang","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102610","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bcab.2023.102610","article-title":"Effect of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum fermentation on the in-vitro antioxidant and angiotensin I-converting enzyme-inhibitory properties of turmeric, coriander, cumin, and red chili pepper suspensions","volume":"47","author":"Takamiya","year":"2023","journal-title":"Biocatal. Agric. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"776","DOI":"10.1093\/procel\/pwad016","article-title":"Immunogenic molecules associated with gut bacterial cell walls: Chemical structures, immune-modulating functions, and mechanisms","volume":"14","author":"Yin","year":"2023","journal-title":"Protein Cell"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"382","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molimm.2010.07.011","article-title":"Lactobacillus plantarum lipoteichoic acid down-regulated Shigella flexneri peptidoglycan-induced inflammation","volume":"48","author":"Kim","year":"2011","journal-title":"Mol. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e858","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2567.2009.03095.x","article-title":"Peptidoglycan from lactobacilli inhibits interleukin-12 production by macrophages induced by Lactobacillus casei through Toll-like receptor 2-dependent and independent mechanisms","volume":"128","author":"Shida","year":"2009","journal-title":"Immunology"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Song, X., Li, F., Zhang, M., Xia, Y., Ai, L., and Wang, G. (2022). Effect of D-Ala-ended peptidoglycan precursors on the immune regulation of Lactobacillus plantarum strains. Front. Immunol., 12.","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2021.825825"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1031","DOI":"10.5851\/kosfa.2022.e50","article-title":"Investigation of immunostimulatory effects of heat-treated Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LM1004 and its underlying molecular mechanism","volume":"42","author":"Bae","year":"2022","journal-title":"Food Sci. Anim. Resour."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6323","DOI":"10.1128\/JB.05060-11","article-title":"Identification of the amidotransferase AsnB1 as being responsible for meso-diaminopimelic acid amidation in Lactobacillus plantarum peptidoglycan","volume":"193","author":"Bernard","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Bacteriol."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu, N., Zhang, T.-T., Rao, Z.-M., Zhang, W.-G., and Xu, J.-Z. (2021). Reconstruction of the diaminopimelic acid pathway to promote L-lysine production in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 22.","DOI":"10.21203\/rs.3.rs-539166\/v1"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"168","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1574-6976.2008.00104.x","article-title":"Cytoplasmic steps of peptidoglycan biosynthesis","volume":"32","author":"Barreteau","year":"2008","journal-title":"FEMS Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"702","DOI":"10.1038\/ni945","article-title":"An essential role for NOD1 in host recognition of bacterial peptidoglycan containing diaminopimelic acid","volume":"4","author":"Chamaillard","year":"2003","journal-title":"Nat. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1584","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1084677","article-title":"Nod1 detects a unique muropeptide from gram-negative bacterial peptidoglycan","volume":"300","author":"Girardin","year":"2003","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"686","DOI":"10.1128\/MMBR.67.4.686-723.2003","article-title":"A continuum of anionic charge: Structures and functions of D-alanyl-teichoic acids in gram-positive bacteria","volume":"67","author":"Neuhaus","year":"2003","journal-title":"Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.1007\/s11224-009-9442-z","article-title":"Pectin, a versatile polysaccharide present in plant cell walls","volume":"20","author":"Voragen","year":"2009","journal-title":"Struct. Chem."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"471","DOI":"10.1038\/nature10071","article-title":"Activation of the innate immune receptor Dectin-1 upon formation of a \u2018phagocytic synapse\u2019","volume":"472","author":"Goodridge","year":"2011","journal-title":"Nature"}],"container-title":["Foods"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-8158\/15\/15\/2736\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T11:33:35Z","timestamp":1785843215000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-8158\/15\/15\/2736"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]]},"references-count":37,"journal-issue":{"issue":"15","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["foods15152736"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/foods15152736","relation":{},"ISSN":["2304-8158"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2304-8158","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]]}}}