Prophylactic feeding of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM to mice attenuates overt colonic hyperplasia

• Published in: Journal of food protection Vol. 66; no. 3; pp. 457 - 465
• Main Authors: Varcoe, J.J, Krejcarek, G, Busta, F, Brady, L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Des Moines, IA International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians 01.03.2003
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; animal models; Animals; Anticarcinogenic Agents; bacterial contamination; Biological and medical sciences; Citrobacter freundii - pathogenicity; Citrobacter rodentium; Colonic Diseases - microbiology; Colonic Diseases - prevention & control; colony-stimulating factors; dietary supplements; digestive system diseases; Disease Models, Animal; disease prevention; Enterobacteriaceae Infections - microbiology; Enterobacteriaceae Infections - prevention & control; food contamination; food pathogens; General pharmacology; histology; host immune response; hyperplasia; immune response; infection; Lactobacillus acidophilus; Lactobacillus acidophilus - physiology; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; nutritional intervention; oral administration; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; probiotics; Probiotics - therapeutic use; prophylactic feeding; Random Allocation; T-cell helper type 1; T-lymphocytes; Probiotic; Skin disease; Lactic acid bacteria; Animal feeding; Hyperplasia; Rodentia; Cardiovascular disease; Lactobacillus acidophilus; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Health food; Mouse; Efficiency; Bacteria; Lactobacillaceae; Laboratory animal
• ISSN: 0362-028X; 1944-9097
• DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X-66.3.457

The objective of this project was to determine if the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM would protect mice from developing transmissible murine colonic hyperplasia (TMCH) caused by Citrobacter rodentium. Our hypothesis was that the oral administration of L. acidophilus NCFM to mice would mitigate colonic hyperplasia and modulate the host immune response. A concurrent administration (CA) study was performed by feeding mice phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), C. rodentium only, L. acidophilus NCFM only, or C. rodentium and NCFM concurrently on the same day. The mice in the CA study were not protected by the probiotic, since their mean colon sample weights (0.109 g) were significantly higher than those of the PBS controls (0.0774 g), and the hematoxylin and eosin-stained samples showed histological changes typically associated with TMCH. A prophylactic feeding (PF) study was performed by orally feeding mice PBS or NCFM once daily for 20 consecutive days; in addition, on day 7, mice were challenged with either PBS or C. rodentium. Mice in the PF study were protected when they consumed the probiotic prior to the pathogen challenge, since their mean colon sample weights (0.0812 g) were not significantly higher than those of the controls (0.0753 g). The hematoxylin and eosin-stained samples appeared similar to the control samples, and the intestinal interleukin (IL)-15 and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) mRNA levels were reduced. L. acidophilus NCFM did attenuate overt colonic hyperplasia when fed to mice prior to challenge with C. rodentium. The mouse model used in this study enabled us to investigate the efficacy of the L. acidophilus NCFM in preventing gastrointestinal disease and is a valid model for future probiotic research.