Bacterial translocation in alymphoplasia (aly/aly) mice.

Bacterial translocation (BTL) is defined as the passage of viable bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract to the organs. This study was to elucidate the roles of Peyer's patches (PPs) and/or mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) in BTL. Alymphoplastic mutant mice and phenotypically normal heterozygous micewere dominantly colonized with streptomycin-resistant Escherichia coli and BTL was examined. In PP- and MLN-competent mice, BTL to MLNs was detected in 100% of mice, but BTL to organs was rare (25%). On the other hand, in PP- and MLN-deficientmice, BTL to organs was detected in 91% of mice. The results clearly indicate that PPs are not the only site for bacterial entry.