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PubMed2003

Urogenital infections in women: can probiotics help?

Urogenital infections not caused by sexual transmission, namely yeast vaginitis, bacterial vaginosis, and urinary tract infection remain a major medical problem in terms of the number of women afflicted each year. Although antimicrobial therapy is generally effective at eradicating these infections, there is still a high incidence of recurrence. The patient's quality of life is affected and many women become frustrated by the cycle of repeated antimicrobial agents whose effectiveness is diminishing due to increasing development of microbial resistance. There is good clinical evidence to show that the intestinal and urogenital microbial flora have a central role in maintaining both the health and wellbeing of humans. Furthermore, the use of "good bacteria" to replace or augment bacterial populations is gradually achieving scientific acceptance. This application is termed probiotics: "live micro-organisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host". The role of the intestinal, vaginal, and urethral flora and probiotics in urogenital health will be the focus of this review.

Candidiasis↗

PubMed2006

Probiotic bacteria as potential detoxification tools: assessing their heavy metal binding isotherms.

Dietary exposure to heavy metals may have detrimental effects on human and animal health, even at low concentrations. Specific probiotic bacteria may have properties that enable them to bind toxins from food and water. We assessed the interaction of probiotic bacteria with cadmium and lead in vitro as an initial screening step to identify strains for heavy metal decontamination in food and intestinal models. Binding isotherms for cadmium and lead were characterized for Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC-705, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii JS and a mix of them used by the food industry. Differences among the strains and their combinations in binding performance at a range of concentrations between 0.1 and 100 mg.L-1 were evaluated with the Langmuir model for biosorption. The effects of pH, contact time, and viability on the binding capacities were also investigated. All strains and their combinations were found to bind cadmium and lead efficiently at low concentration ranges commonly observed in foods. However, the two strains and their combinations differed significantly in their maximum binding capacities and affinities represented by the Langmuir constants Qmax and b, respectively. The binding seemed to occur instantaneously and in a pH-dependent manner, which can be perfectly described by a segmented linear-plateau model.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2003

Oral administration of probiotic Escherichia coli after birth reduces frequency of allergies and repeated infections later in life (after 10 and 20 years).

BACKGROUND: The development of allergies is a complex in which both composition and influence of the intestinal flora play an important role. We observed in earlier studies that the presence of an orally administered probiotic Escherichia coli strain in the intestine stimulated both a serum and local antibody response, decreased the presence of pathogens, the number of infections and the need for antibiotics. METHODS: The preventive effect of oral colonization after birth with a probiotic E. COLI strain was assessed by evaluating the results of a questionnaire both 20 years (150 full-term infants) and 10 years (77 preterm infants) after colonization. RESULTS: Differences in occurrence of allergies in colonized and control subjects were statistically significant both after 10 and 20 years (p < 0.01). Specific serum IgE antibodies confirmed the presence of allergies in 100% of 10-year-old and 91% of 20-year-old patients with clinical symptoms of allergy. Ten years after colonization, the occurrence of repeated infections was significantly lower in colonized subjects than it was in controls (p < 0.01); 20 years later, no differences were found in these groups. CONCLUSIONS: Intentional colonization of the intestine with E. coli after birth (offering the advantage of the first colonizer) was found to decrease the incidence of allergies and repeated infections in later life.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed2005

Prevention of infectious complications in surgical patients: potential role of probiotics.

Infectious complications in surgical patients often originate from the intestinal microflora. In the critically ill patient, small bowel motility is disturbed, leading to bacterial overgrowth and subsequent bacterial translocation due to dysfunction of the gut mucosal barrier. The optimal prophylactic strategy should act on all these factors, but such a strategy is not yet available. For several decades, antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent translocation of pathogenic bacteria has been studied with conflicting results. Selective decontamination of the digestive tract has shown good results, but fear for bacterial multiresistance has prevented worldwide implementation. In recent years, probiotics, living bacteria with a potential beneficial effect to their host, have shown promising results in several randomized placebo-controlled trials. Currently, in vitro and experimental research focuses on the effects of probiotics on the microflora responsible for gut-derived infections, structural mucosal barrier function and the immune system.

Acute Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cariogenicity of the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus salivarius in rats.

Probiotic bacteria such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are considered to be non-pathogenic and non-toxigenic on the basis of long years of safe usage. However, some species of lactobacilli are thought to be associated with the development of dental caries. The purpose of the present study was to examine the cariogenicity of the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus salivarius in rats. Rats were divided into six groups, and infected with L. salivarius LS1952R and/or Streptococcus mutans MT8148R. L. salivarius LS1952R became established in the oral cavity of rats and induced significant level of dental caries even when infected for only 5 days from 18 to 22 days of age. In addition, the caries scores of rats superinfected with both Streptococcus mutans MT8148R and L. salivarius LS1952R from 18 days of age were significantly higher than those infected with either L. salivarius LS1952R or S. mutans MT8148R alone. Since strain LS1952R can adhere to saliva-coated hydroxyapatites, it is concluded that L. salivarius strain LS1952R possesses an inherent cariogenic activity following adherence to the tooth surface.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2006

Living drugs for gastrointestinal diseases: the case for probiotics.

Nonpathogenic micro-organisms may contain or produce molecules of potential therapeutic interest. This led to the concept of using ingested living micro-organisms to produce and transport these molecules to targets in the proximal or distal intestine. Several characteristics of this pharmacological approach are very original: potential for in vivo production of active molecules, for targeting immune cells, for presenting immunogenic molecules in a microbial context, for duodenal delivery using bile sensitivity. Probiotics have been studied for some decades and more recently worm eggs have also received some interest. This paper summarizes facts (especially results of randomized controlled trials and pharmacokinetic studies), and ideas about the use of probiotics to treat or prevent gastrointestinal diseases. The safety of this approach (exceptional cases of infections have been observed), and the potential for using new agents or genetically modified micro-organisms (ongoing trials in humans with Crohn's disease) are also discussed.

Bifidobacterium↗

PubMed2004

Probiotic effects on experimental graft-versus-host disease: let them eat yogurt.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) often limits feasibility and outcome of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Current pathophysiologic concepts of aGVHD involve conditioning regimens, donor-derived T cells, proinflammatory cytokines, and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a major trigger for aGVHD. LPS derives mostly from gram-negative bacteria and can enter circulation through the impaired mucosal barrier after the conditioning regimen. Probiotic microorganisms have been shown to alter the composition of the intestinal microflora and thereby mediate anti-inflammatory effects. We hypothesized that modifying the enteric flora using the probiotic microorganism Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, would ameliorate aGVHD. Here we show that oral administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG before and after transplantation results in improved survival and reduced aGVHD. Furthermore, subculturing of mesenteric lymph node tissue revealed a reduced translocation of enteric bacteria. Our findings suggest that alteration of the intestinal microflora plays an important role in the initiation of experimental aGVHD.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Probiotics for the prevention of beta cell autoimmunity in children at genetic risk of type 1 diabetes--the PRODIA study.

The final aim of the PRODIA study is to determine whether the use of probiotics during the first 6 months of life decreases the appearance of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM)-associated autoantibodies in children with genetic risk for T1DM. A pilot study including 200 subjects was planned to show whether the use of probiotics during the first 6 months of life is safe and feasible. The prevalence of autoantibodies among the study subjects at 6, 12, and 24 months of age was at levels close to the expected and the clinical follow-up did not either indicate problems in the feasibility of the study.

Autoantibodies↗

PubMed1999

A probiotic strain of L. acidophilus reduces DMH-induced large intestinal tumors in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

Probiotic bacteria strains were examined for their influence on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced intestinal tumors in 100 male Sprague-Dawley rats. Lactobacillus acidophilus (Delvo Pro LA-1), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (GG), Bifidobacterium animalis (CSCC1941), and Streptococcus thermophilus (DD145) strains were examined for their influence when added as freeze-dried bacteria to an experimental diet based on a high-fat semipurified (AIN-93) rodent diet. Four bacterial treatments were compared: L. acidophilus, L. acidophilus + B. animalis, L. rhamnosus, and S. thermophilus, the bacteria being added daily at 1% freeze-dried weight (10(10) colony-forming units/g) to the diet. Trends were observed in the incidence of rats with large intestinal tumors for three treatments: 25% lower than control for L. acidophilus, 20% lower for L. acidophilus + B. animalis and L. rhamnosus treatments, and 10% lower for S. thermophilus. Large intestinal tumor burden was significantly lower for treated rats with L. acidophilus than for the control group (10 and 3 tumors/treatment group, respectively, p = 0.05). Large intestinal tumor mass index was also lower for the L. acidophilus treatment than for control (1.70 and 0.10, respectively, p < 0.05). Other treatments showed no statistically significant change from control for these indexes of tumorigenesis. For rats fed L. acidophilus, no adenocarcinomas were present in the colons. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of bacterial chromosomal DNA fragments was used to differentiate introduced (exogenous) bacterial strains from indigenous bacteria of the same genera present in the feces. Survival during gut passage and displacement of indigenous lactobacilli occurred with introduced L. acidophilus and L. rhamnosus GG during the probiotic treatment period. However, introduced strains of B. animalis and S. thermophilus were not able to be isolated from feces. It is concluded that this strain of L. acidophilus supplied as freeze-dried bacteria in the diet was protective, as seen by a small but significant inhibition of tumors within the rat colon.

1,2-Dimethylhydrazine↗

PubMed2004

Fecal water genotoxicity is predictive of tumor-preventive activities by inulin-like oligofructoses, probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium lactis), and their synbiotic combination.

The measurement of fecal water genotoxicity in human colon cells could be a useful biomarker to study effects of diet in the colon. Here we assessed aqueous fecal extracts of samples from a chronic study with rats fed prebiotics, probiotics, and their combination. Treatments were maltodextrins (controls), inulin/oligofructoses (prebiotic), Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Bifidobacterium lactis (probiotics) or both (synbiotic). Azoxymethane (AOM) was administered to initiate tumors. Rat feces were collected at 0 and 10 days and 2, 4, and 8 mo, and cecal contents were collected at 8 mo. Aqueous phases were prepared and tested for genotoxicity in HT29 colon cells using the comet assay. The studied types of intervention reduced fecal and cecal genotoxicity. DNA damage by samples from AOM-treated, tumor-free rats was significantly lower than from tumor-bearing animals, especially after 4 mo of synbiotic and prebiotic interventions. Inulin-based diets reduced exposure to genotoxins in the feces, directly reflecting the reported reduction of tumor incidence in these animals. Evidence is provided for the validity of this measurement as a biomarker of chemoprevention because 1) fecal water genotoxicity reflected genotoxic exposure in the cecum, 2) tumor incidence and fecal genotoxicity were directly related, and 3) these interventions reduced tumor risks by reducing exposure to genotoxins in the gut.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Probiotics and prebiotics in female health.

Functional foods such as probiotics, prebiotics and nutraceuticals are of extreme interest to researchers. There is growing evidence that these food ingredients may improve and in some cases treat certain conditions that are implicated in women's health. The use of probiotics (live, beneficial bacteria) in improving gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal tract conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, candidiasis and other female urogenital tract conditions are reviewed. Emphasis is also given to the importance of prebiotics (non-digestible food ingredients) in osteoporosis management and alleviation of menopausal symptoms and reducing the onset of cancer.

Female↗

PubMed2004

Bacterial probiotics induce an immune response in the honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

To explore immune system activation in the honey bee, Apis mellifera L., larvae of four ages were exposed through feeding to spores of a natural pathogen, Paenibacillus larvae larvae, to cells of a diverse set of related nonpathogenic bacteria, and to bacterial coat components. These larvae were then assayed for RNA levels of genes encoding two antibacterial peptides, abaecin and defensin. Larvae exposed to either P. l. larvae or a mix of nonpathogenic bacteria showed high RNA levels for the abaecin gene relative to controls. First instars responded significantly to the presence of the nonpathogenic mix within 12 h after exposure, a time when they remain highly susceptible to bacterial invasion. This response was sustained for two successive instars, eventually becoming 21-fold higher in larvae exposed to probiotic spores versus control larvae. The mixture of nonpathogenic bacteria is therefore presented as a potential surrogate for assaying the immune responses of different honey bee lineages. It also is proposed that nonpathogenic bacteria can be used as a probiotic to enhance honey bee immunity, helping bee larvae, and other life stages, survive attacks from pathogens in the field.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Probiotics and immune regulation of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Intestinal microflora play an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Certain probiotic bacteria provide beneficial effects for human health and intervention of IBD. Possible mechanisms underlying these effects are diverse and include many aspects of the interaction of the host with its commensal microflora, with immunological and non-immunological effects. This review paper will focus on the recent progress in the use of probiotics in the treatment of IBD, and discuss the potential immunological mechanisms underlying their effects, such as the modulation of mucosal T cell, B cell, epithelial cell, dendrtic cell, macrophage, nature killer cell, antibody, and cytokine responses.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Probiotics in inflammatory bowel disease: controlled trials and perspectives].

Probiotics may modulate intestinal flora and immunity and are therefore studied in an attempt to modulate experimental colitis or human inflammatory bowel disease. We analysed randomised controlled trials performed using probiotics in humans with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and pouchitis. Perspectives include the use of genetically modified micro-organisms to deliver anti-inflammatory agents to the gastrointestinal tract.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗

PubMed2000

Characterization and purification of a bacteriocin produced by a potential probiotic culture, Lactobacillus acidophilus 30SC.

Lactobacillus acidophilus 30SC was tested for its potential as a probiotic culture. The strain exhibited good acid tolerance in an artificial gastric solution as well as bile resistance in media containing 0.3% bile acids. The strain produced a heat-stable antimicrobial compound that was shown to be proteinaceous in nature and, therefore, referred to as a bacteriocin. The bacteriocin was active over a wide pH range and inhibited a number of gram-positive bacteria including Listeria ivanovii and pathogenic strains. The bacteriocin was purified by 50% ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by hydrophobic interaction column chromatography. The SDS-PAGE of the active fractions resulted in a single band with estimated molecular mass of 3.5 kDa. These results demonstrate the potential of L. acidophilus 30SC as a probiotic culture that can be utilized in the manufacturing of dairy foods and dietary supplements.

Bacteriocins↗

PubMed2004

Screening of dairy yeast strains for probiotic applications.

To evaluate the potential of yeasts of dairy origin as probiotics, we tested 8 species including Candida humilis, Debaryomyces hansenii, Debaryomyces occidentalis, Kluyveromyces lactis, Kluyveromyces lodderae, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Yarrowia lipolytica, isolated from commercial blue cheese and kefir. Strains were randomly selected from each species and tested for their ability to adhere to human enterocyte-like Caco-2 cells in culture. Among the 8 species, K. lactis showed higher adhesive ability than K. marxianus, K. lodderae, and D. hansenii. The other 4 species were poorly adhesive. All species other than K. marxianus and C. humilis were resistant to acidic conditions. In the presence of bile acid, growth inhibition was undetectable when incubation was carried out at 27 degrees C; however, it was evident for C. humilis and a strain of D. occidentalis when incubated at 37 degrees C. Moreover, the influence of proteinase treatment of living cells of K. lactis and K. lodderae on their adhesion to Caco-2 cells was evaluated. Although a slight reduction was recognized when K. lactis was treated with proteinase K, the influence of intestinal protease treatments of pepsin followed by trypsin was negligible. These results indicated that a proteinaceous factor was unlikely to be involved in adhesion of K. lactis and K. lodderae to Caco-2 cells. No stimulation of IL-8 synthesis by Caco-2 cells was recognized in the presence of K. lactis. In conclusion, K. lactis was the most attractive to continue study for use as probiotic microorganisms.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Short communication: effect of exopolysaccharide isolated from "viili" on the adhesion of probiotics and pathogens to intestinal mucus.

The strong ropy character of the Scandinavian fermented milk viili is conferred by the exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by lactococcal strains. These biopolymers can be responsible for some health benefits. We have assessed the influence of the EPS fraction isolated from commercial viili on the adhesion of some probiotics and pathogens to human intestinal mucus. Concentrations of viili EPS greater than 0.1 mg/mL promoted a decrease in adherence of Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and this effect was dose-dependent. However, no modifications were detected on the adhesion levels of the pathogenic strains tested at a concentration of 1 mg/mL of EPS. Results obtained in the present work should be considered in the design of new probiotic products.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Probiotics inhibit TNF-alpha-induced interleukin-8 secretion of HT29 cells.

AIM: To study the effect of probiotics on interleukin-8 secretion in intestinal epithelia when stimulated by proinflammatory cytokines. METHODS: Colonic adenocarcinoma HT29 cells were cultured and divided into four groups: control, TNF-alpha (group T in short), bifidobacterium (group B), lactobacillus (group L). B. Longum and L. bulgaricus were suspended in culture medium with a concentration of 1 x 10(8) cfu/ml and added into 24 wells respectively. One hour later TNF-alpha (10 ng/ml) was added into each well of groups T, B, L. The supernatants were collected and measured for IL-8 after 3 hours, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) p65 was also examined by Western blotting. RESULTS: There was less interleukin-8 secretion in HT29 cells when preincubated with B. Longum or L. bulgaricus compared with group T. Less p65 appeared in nuclei in groups B and L compared with group T, as detected by Western blot. CONCLUSION: Probiotics can suppress interleukin-8 secretion in intestinal epithelia when stimulated by proinflammatory cytokines, which is most likely mediated by NF-kappaB.

HT29 Cells↗