BACKGROUND Clinical and experimental studies suggest that the probiotic mixture VSL#3 has protective activities in the context of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of the study was to reveal bacterial strain-specific molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory potential of VSL#3 in intestinal epithelial cells (IEC). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS VSL#3 inhibited TNF-induced ...

The transmissible plasmid pAMbeta1, which codes for erythromycin and lincomycin resistance, was conjugally transferred from a Lancefield group F Streptococcus to a strain of Streptococcus avium. Both organisms served as pAMbeta1 donors for three strains of Lactobacillus casei. Introduction of pAMbeta1 into one of the L. casei strains caused the organism to lose its native 6.7 X 10(6)-dalton pla...

By a series of quantitative assays of concentrates prepared in a variety of ways, it has been shown that the previously described growth factor now called "strepogenin," required by certain hemolytic streptococci, is very similar to and possibly identical with the recently described growth factors for Lactobacillus casei and Smith's Streptococcus lactis. An improved procedure for assay of strep...

Endophthalmitis is a serious post-traumatic ocular complication that can lead to loss of vision. We report a case of acute post-traumatic endophthalmitis following a penetrating injury caused by an unusual organism, Brevibacterium casei . The patient was successfully treated with intravitreal antibiotics like ceftazidime and vancomycin, along with topical cefazolin and tobramycin. Brevibacteriu...

Measurement of the serum Lactobacillus casei (;folic-acid') activity is widely used as an index of folic-acid deficiency. Present methods of assay result in recovery of about half the active material in normal serum. A modified method of assay is described which gives higher L. casei values and a clearer distinction between the sera of normal subjects and of patients with folic-acid deficiency.

The Lactobacillus casei response to folate is normally estimated by measuring the culture turbidity after 16 to 20 hours' incubation. Streeter and O'Neill (1969) found that cultures containing serum grew more rapidly than similar cultures containing folic acid (PteGlu) unless grown into the stationary phase (44 hours). Others, however, have reported comparable results from 20and 44-hour assays ...

The protective effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei, isolated from fresh cow milk, was studied in vivo. Toxicological data of rat serum revealed that the Lactobacillus isolates had liver improvement functions. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities of the rats dosed with Lactobacillus isolates alone were lower (15.50 and 18.27 iu/l) than the control. There was a ...

Candidiasis is a common fungal infection that is prevalent in immunocompromised individuals. In this study, an oral vaccine against Candida albicans was developed by using the molecular display approach. Enolase 1 protein (Eno1p) of C. albicans was expressed on the Lactobacillus casei cell surface by using poly-gamma-glutamic acid synthetase complex A from Bacillus subtilis as an anchoring prot...

In this study, 11 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains were screened for potential new probiotics using in vitro methods, including acid and bile salt tolerance, adhesion, antioxidative and a-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The results indicated that Lactobacillus casei 2W and Lactobacillus rhamnosus Z7 showed better potential probiotic properties and a-glucosidase inhibitory activity in vitro. ...

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a multisystem vasculitis and the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children of the developed world. Lactobacillus casei cell wall extract-induced coronary arteritis in mice mirrors KD in children. Here, we report that responses to L. casei cell wall extract possess all the hallmarks of a superantigen-mediated response: marked proliferation of naive T cells, non...