Lactobacillus casei cell wall extract directly stimulates the expression of COX2 independent of Toll-like receptor 2 in rat glial cells.

Kawasaki disease is an acute illness of early childhood that is characterized by prolonged fever and vasculitis of unknown pathogenesis. Lactobacillus casei cell wall extract (LCWE)-induced vasculitis in mice is a well-validated model of Kawasaki disease. In the nervous system, glial cells play an important role in fever development. This study investigated whether LCWE directly stimulates glial cells, resulting in the induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2), which is required for prostaglandin synthesis and fever development. We found that LCWE induced COX2 expression and activated the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway in rat B92 glial cells, but Toll-like receptor-2, which is one of the receptors for LCWE, could not be detected in the cells. These results suggest that LCWE activates the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway and induces COX2 in rat B92 glial cells through another LCWE receptor other than Toll-like receptor-2.