title: Positive effect of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum in reversing LPS-induced infertility in a mouse model.
abstract: Bacterial infections have high incidence among the female population at reproductive age and are widely known to cause infertility due to inflammation. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of the inflammatory agent LPS on fertility outcome and to evaluate the ability of Lactobacillus plantarum in ameliorating the LPS-mediated inflammation-induced infertility. Female BALB/c mice infused intravaginally with a single dose of 20 μl sterile normal saline containing 5, 10 or 20 μg LPS were divided into two groups for evaluation of tissue histology and pregnancy outcome. In the first group, aimed at observing changes in tissue histology, inflammation was observed in vaginal sections of mice instilled with a single dose of 20 μg LPS, which were sacrificed on days 2, 5 and 8. In the second group, aimed at evaluating pregnancy outcome, female mice were administered 20 μg LPS, which rendered them infertile upon mating on days 2, 5 and 8. In another experiment, normal histology of vaginal sections was observed in mice administered a single dose of 20 μg LPS, followed by 108c.f.u. L. plantarum in 20 μl at 24 h intervals, until the mice were sacrificed on days 2, 5 and 8. Following similar treatment, female mice, when mated with proven male breeder mice on days 2, 5 and 8, retained their fertility and delivered pups. These results were further confirmed by the downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines on treatment with L. plantarum, revealing the role of probiotics in ameliorating inflammation-induced infertility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Panjab University,Chandigarh,India.
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhandari
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Panjab University,Chandigarh,India.
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Panjab University,Chandigarh,India.
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Prabha