The Rationale for Probiotics Improving Reproductive Health and Pregnancy Outcome

Authors

Gregor Reid, Toronto General Hospital

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-1989

Journal

Current Microbiology

Volume

18

Issue

2

First Page

93

Last Page

97

URL with Digital Object Identifier

10.1007/BF01570831

Abstract

The concept of local and diffuse adherence has been described for enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. In the present study, similar findings are reported for bacterial adherence to uroepithelial cells from patients with acute urinary tract infection and following incubation in an in vitro adherence assay. A population of cells were seen with few or no bacteria attached; others had localized areas of adherent organisms, while some cells were heavily colonized in a diffuse manner. These patterns were noted in vitro for an Escherichia coli strain and a Lactobacillus casei strain, which possess different adhesins, therefore indicating that the adherence patterns were probably due to epithelial cell differences. The light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy observations illustrate that bacterial adherence to uroepithelial cells occurs in localized and diffuse distributions. The results indicate that there are differences in uroepithelial cell receptivity for bacterial attachment. The availability of cells receptive to uropathogens and indigenous flora, such as lactobacilli, is probably one of several factors that influence the pathogenesis of urinary tract infections. © 1989 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.