ABSTRACT
The antimicrobial activity of the intraurethrally administered probiotic Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota againstEscherichia coli in a murine urinary tract infection (UTI) model was examined. UTI was induced by intraurethral administration ofEscherichia coli strain HU-1 (a clinical isolate from a UTI patient, positive for type 1 and P fimbriae), at a dose of 1 × 106 to 2 × 106 CFU in 20 μl of saline, into a C3H/HeN mouse bladder which had been traumatized with 0.1 N HCl followed immediately by neutralization with 0.1 N NaOH 24 h before the challenge infection. Chronic infection with the pathogen at 106 CFU in the urinary tract (bladder and kidneys) was maintained for more than 3 weeks after the challenge, and the number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and myeloperoxidase activity in the urine were markedly elevated during the infection period. A single administration of L. casei Shirota at a dose of 108 CFU 24 h before the challenge infection dramatically inhibited E. coli growth and inflammatory responses in the urinary tract. Multiple daily treatments with L. casei Shirota during the postinfection period also showed antimicrobial activity in this UTI model. A heat-killed preparation ofL. casei Shirota exerted significant antimicrobial effects not only with a single pretreatment (100 μg/mouse) but also with multiple daily treatments during the postinfection period. The otherLactobacillus strains tested, i.e., L. fermentum ATCC 14931T, L. jensenii ATCC 25258T, L. plantarum ATCC 14917T, and L. reuteri JCM 1112T, had no significant antimicrobial activity. Taken together, these results suggest that the probiotic L. casei strain Shirota is a potent therapeutic agent for UTI.
INCIDENCE OF NON-CANDIDA ALBICANS IN PATIENTS WITH URINARY TRACT INFECTION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SPECIATION AND ANTIFUNGAL SUSCEPTIBILITY
