TITLE:
Preliminary Investigation on the Effect of Lactobacillus and Epidermal Growth Factor on Tight Junction Proteins in Experimental Clostridium difficile Infection
AUTHORS:
Sukhminderjit Kaur, Chetana Vaishnavi, Pallab Ray, Malkit Singh, Rakesh Kochhar
KEYWORDS:
Antibiotic, C. difficile, Epidermal Growth Factor, Immunosuppressive Drug, Probiotic, Tight Junction Proteins
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.4 No.8,
June
17,
2014
ABSTRACT: Clostridium difficile associated disease (CDAD) is the most common hospital acquired
infection, due to exposure to various drugs. C. difficile toxins
influence barrier function in intestinal epithelium. Biotherapeutic approaches,
employing probiotic and epidermal growth factor (EGF) could help in barrier
protein protection and aid in CDAD management. A preliminary investigation on
the effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus and EGF on tight junction proteins in experimentally induced C. difficile infection was done.
BALB/mice were divided into 5 groups. Group 1 was comprised of healthy
controls, whereas animals in Groups 2 - 5 were sub-divided into 3 subgroups (a,
b and c) each. Animals in Groups 2 - 5 received C. difficile inoculum
either on day 1 (Group 2) or after pretreatment with ampicillin (Group 3),
cyclosporine (Group 4) or lansoprazole (Group 5). Additionally animals in
subgroups “b” and “c” also received L. acidophilus and EGF inocula respectively
after C. difficile challenge. All animals were investigated for the
presence of tight junction proteins (occludin, α-actinin and zonula occludens) in their colonic segments. Data were
analyzed using the SPSS version 10 software. These three proteins were present
in significantly less (P L. acidophilus and EGF after challenge with
ampicillin, cyclosporine and lansoprazole, suggesting their role in protecting
intestinal barrier function.