{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T17:45:34Z","timestamp":1782927934747,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Air pollutants can cause respiratory diseases, highlighting the need for effective preventive and therapeutic strategies. We investigated the protective effects of heat-killed Lacticaseibacillus paracasei ATG-E1 against particulate matter plus diesel exhaust particle (PM10D)-induced airway inflammation. BALB\/c mice were intranasally injected with PM10D and treated with heat-killed L. paracasei ATG-E1 via oral gavage for 5 days. In the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lungs, inflammatory mediators, immune cell subtypes, and histological changes were analyzed, while gut microbiota composition was analyzed in the cecum. Heat-killed L. paracasei ATG-E1 suppressed the infiltration of immune cells, including neutrophils, T cells, and B cells. Furthermore, it decreased various inflammatory mediators, such as C-X-C Motif chemokine ligand (CXCL)-1, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2, interleukin (IL)-1\u03b1, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-\u03b1, in the BALF and lung tissue, as well as serum symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) levels in the PM10D-induced airway inflammation model. Heat-killed L. paracasei ATG-E1 also exhibited a protective effect against lung damage induced by PM10D. Furthermore, heat-killed L. paracasei ATG-E1 treatment shifted the gut microbiota composition, increasing several bacterial genera. The data demonstrate that heat-killed L. paracasei ATG-E1 acts as a protective agent against air pollutant-induced lung injury, suggesting its potential as a candidate adjunctive strategy for prevention.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27135940","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T16:50:33Z","timestamp":1782924633000},"page":"5940","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Heat-Killed Lacticaseibacillus paracasei ATG-E1 Improves Particulate Matter 10 Plus Diesel Exhaust Particles (PM10D)-Induced Airway Inflammation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5377-2819","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Young-Sil","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gun-Seok","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nara","family":"Jeong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bokyeong","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Seung-Yeon","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Won Ho","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miji","family":"Shin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hyo-Jeong","family":"Yun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Seung-Hyun","family":"Ko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6757-3127","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jihee","family":"Kang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AtoGen Co., Ltd., 11-6, Techno-1 ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34015, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19615","DOI":"10.1007\/s11356-021-13208-x","article-title":"Air pollution exposure-the (in)visible risk factor for respiratory diseases","volume":"28","author":"Tudorache","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environ. 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