ABSTRACT
Gout is an acute inflammatory disease characterised by the presence of uric acid crystals in the joint. This event promotes neutrophil infiltration and activation that leads to tissue damage. We investigated here whether the oral administration of the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium longum 5(1A) (BL) could ameliorate monosodium urate crystal (MSU)-induced inflammation in a murine model of gout. Mice received oral administration of BL or saline daily for 7 days and then were injected with MSU in the knee cavity. Treatment with BL significantly alleviated the inflammatory parameters, as seen by reduced hypernociception, reduced neutrophil accumulation in the joint and myeloperoxidase activity in periarticular tissue. There was inhibition of the production of CXCL1 and interleukin(IL)-1ß in joints. Levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 were significantly higher in the knee tissue of mice treated with than control mice injected with MSU. In conclusion, oral BL treatment reduced the inflammatory response in an experimental murine model of gout, suggesting it may be useful as an adjuvant treatment in patients with gout.
Subject(s)
Bifidobacterium , Gout Suppressants/administration & dosage , Gout/pathology , Gout/therapy , Inflammation/pathology , Inflammation/therapy , Probiotics/administration & dosage , Administration, Oral , Animals , Cytokines/analysis , Disease Models, Animal , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Synovial Fluid/chemistry , Uric Acid/analysisABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: In the present work, the effect of narrow-band ultraviolet B (UVB) phototherapy on a cutaneous microbial population was evaluated in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and compared with control patients (vitiligo). METHODS: Count, isolation and identification of cutaneous microbiota from anticubital fossa were performed in 10 controls and 10 AD patients, both submitted to similar levels (P > 0.05) of UVB phototherapy (4.3 +/- 0.9 and 4.3 +/- 0.8 accumulated joules, respectively). Additionally, Staphylococcus aureus isolates were screened for the production of exotoxins. RESULTS: The total and staphylococcal cutaneous microbial population levels were higher (P < 0.05) in AD patients than in the controls. All these population levels decreased (P < 0.05) for both AD and control patients after UVB phototherapy, which also decreased the SCORAD for AD patients. All patients with AD and 50% of controls were carriers of S. aureus, and harboured the bacteria simultaneously on skin and anterior nares. All of the S. aureus strains recovered from AD patient skin produced toxin and the B type was the most frequently detected (70%), followed by C (20%) and A (10%) toxins. Only 40% of the S. aureus isolates from control patients produced toxin. After UVB treatment, microbial population levels of AD patients were similar (P > 0.05) to the ones found in control patients before phototherapy, and toxin production ability of S. aureus isolates decreased drastically. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study show the beneficial effect of UVB phototherapy on AD and suggest that this may be attributable not only to reduction of skin surface bacteria but also to the suppression of superantigen production from S. aureus.
Subject(s)
Dermatitis, Atopic/microbiology , Dermatitis, Atopic/radiotherapy , Skin/microbiology , Ultraviolet Therapy/methods , Bacterial Toxins/biosynthesis , Case-Control Studies , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
A semi-solid corn-meal diet sterilized in glass flasks in a hospital-type autoclave is described. The values of weight gain, feed efficiency, apparent digestibility, and cecal diameters were the same for germ-free mice fed either on this diet or on a soybean meal and alfalfa diet (L-485), widely used in germ-free research. The corn-meal diet has been successfully used for eight years.
Subject(s)
Animal Feed , Germ-Free Life , Steam , Sterilization/methods , Analysis of Variance , Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Animals , Caseins , Corn Oil , Flour , Food, Formulated , Medicago sativa , Mice , Research Design , Weight Gain , Zea maysABSTRACT
Se describe una ración de maíz semisólida, esterilizada en frascos de vidrio, utilizando un autoclave de tipo hospitalario. Los valores de ganancia de peso, eficacia alimentaria, digestibilidad aparente y diámetro del intestino ciego fueron los mismos para ratones libres de gérmenes, alimentados con esta ración, e con la ración de soya e alfalfa (L-485), ampliamente usada en gnotobiología. La ración de maíz ha sido utilizada con éxito durante un período de ocho años