Preventive effects of Lactobacillus mixture on experimental E. coli urinary tract infection in infant rats.
OBJECTIVE
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is an ascending infection of fecal uropathogens, urogenital lactobacilli are suggested to play a role in the prevention of UTI. This study was to investigate whether lactobacillus mixture (LM) could prevent the experimental infantile UTI.


METHODS
The LM were composed of three lactobacillus strains (L. gasseri, L. rhamnosus, and L. reuteri). Mother rats were grouped as lactobacillus (LB) group I (LB I, n=22), II (LB II, n=24) and control (n=20). LB I and LB II were fed with LM (1 mL/day) and control with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) from late pregnancy through lactation. All newborn rats were breast-fed and their urine and stool were collected at the end of the 3rd week to compare lactobacillus colony. Then, infant rats from LB II were treated with intravesical instillation of LM. Infant rats from LB I and control were instilled with PBS. Twenty-four hours later, experimental UTI was introduced by intravesical instillation of standard E. coli strain. After 72 hours later, the infant rats were sacrificed for histologic examination.


RESULTS
Lactobacilli colonies in urine and stool were not statistically different among the three groups. The incidence of pyelonephritis in the LB II was 16.7% (4/24), LB I 72.7% (16.22) and control 75.0% (15/20) (p=0.015). The incidence of cystitis was not significantly different among the three groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The intravesically instilled LM significantly prevented experimental pyelonephritis in infant rats, however, LM administered orally to the pregnant and lactating mother rats did not.
Department of Pediatrics, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea.
Jung Won
JW
Lee
Jee Hyun
JH
Lee
Sun Hee
SH
Sung
Seung Joo
SJ
Lee
D000818:Animals; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007778:Lactobacillus; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*