Reverse Effect of Gram-Positive Bacteria vs. Gram-Negative Bacteria on Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis in Germfree Rats

• Published in: MICROBIOLOGY and IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 487 - 497
• Main Authors: Kohashi, Osamu, Kohashi, Yukiko, Takahashi, Tokutaro, Ozawa, Atsushi, Shigematsu, Nobuaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.1985; Center For Academic Publications Japan; Center for Academic Publications Japan
• Subjects: Animals; Arthritis - etiology; Arthritis, Experimental - etiology; Arthritis, Experimental - immunology; Arthritis, Experimental - pathology; Bacteroides; Bifidobacterium; Biological and medical sciences; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Escherichia coli; Feces - microbiology; Female; Germ-Free Life; Gram-Negative Bacteria - immunology; Gram-Positive Bacteria - immunology; Hypersensitivity, Delayed; Immunization; Inflammatory joint diseases; Lactobacillus casei; Medical sciences; Mycobacterium bovis; Peptidoglycan - immunology; Propionibacterium acnes; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; Tuberculin Test; Immunopathology; Rat; Rodentia; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Gram-positive bacteria; Microflora; Vertebrata; Experimental disease; Regulation(control); Mammalia; Immunological adjuvant; Germ free animal; Polyarthritis; Gram negative bacteria
• ISSN: 0385-5600; 1348-0421
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1985.tb00851.x

Germfree (GF) F344 rats developed severe adjuvant-induced arthritis with a 100% incidence after a single intradermal injection of heat-killed Mycobacterium bovis (BCG). Specific pathogene-free (SPF) rats developed less severe arthritis with a lower incidence. The rats colonized with Escherichia coli or Bacteroides developed mild disease comparable to that in SPF rats. The rats colonized with Bifidobacterium, Propionibacterium acnes, Lactobacillus casei, L. fermentum, L. murini, and L. acidophilus developed more severe disease than that in GF rats. Furthermore, the rats colonized with a mixture of E. coli and the above lactobacilli developed very mild disease similar to that in SPF rats. These results suggest that (1) gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli and Bacteroides, may suppress the disease, possibly through their lipopolysaccharides, and may be responsible for the lower susceptibility of SPF rats; (2) gram-positive bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium, P. acnes, and lactobacilli, may enhance the disease, possibly through their peptidoglycans; and (3) E. coli may play a dominant role in modulating the development of adjuvant-induced arthritis.