Enhancement of resistance in mice treated with Lactobacillus casei:: Effect on Trichinella spiralis infection

The ability of viable Lactobacillus casei, administered by an intraperitoneal route, to induce resistance in mice against Trichinella spiralis infection was tested. The percent reduction of adult worms in the intestine 5 days after T. spiralis infection observed in L. casei-treated animals, compared with those of the control group, fluctuated between 70.9 and 88.5%; reductions of larvae per gram of muscle tissue, evaluated at 30 days after infection, varied from 46.6 to 84.4% in L. casei-treated mice compared with controls. At 5 days after infection, intestinal villus height was shorter in T. spiralis-infected animals than in L. casei-treated or uninfected mice. There were fewer mast cells/crypt unit in L. casei-treated and uninfected mice than in T. spiralis-infected animals. Lactobacilli-treated mice showed twice as many mononuclear cells/crypt unit as T. spiralis-infected animals. The IFN-gamma serum level was higher in L. casei-treated animals at the time of worm challenge as compared with T. spiralis-infected or uninfected mice. The results indicate that: (1) L. casei increased resistance that acted against T. spiralis infection in mice, (2) this resistance apparently was directed against adult worms in the intestine. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.