WO1999017788A1 - Composition of treatment of candidiasis - Google Patents
Composition of treatment of candidiasis Download PDFInfo
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- WO1999017788A1 WO1999017788A1 PCT/US1998/019587 US9819587W WO9917788A1 WO 1999017788 A1 WO1999017788 A1 WO 1999017788A1 US 9819587 W US9819587 W US 9819587W WO 9917788 A1 WO9917788 A1 WO 9917788A1
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- lactobacillus
- bifidobacterium
- animal
- nonviable
- probiotic
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
- A61K35/00—Medicinal preparations containing materials or reaction products thereof with undetermined constitution
- A61K35/66—Microorganisms or materials therefrom
- A61K35/74—Bacteria
- A61K35/741—Probiotics
- A61K35/744—Lactic acid bacteria, e.g. enterococci, pediococci, lactococci, streptococci or leuconostocs
- A61K35/747—Lactobacilli, e.g. L. acidophilus or L. brevis
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
- A61K35/00—Medicinal preparations containing materials or reaction products thereof with undetermined constitution
- A61K35/66—Microorganisms or materials therefrom
- A61K35/74—Bacteria
- A61K35/741—Probiotics
- A61K35/744—Lactic acid bacteria, e.g. enterococci, pediococci, lactococci, streptococci or leuconostocs
- A61K35/745—Bifidobacteria
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
- A61K36/00—Medicinal preparations of undetermined constitution containing material from algae, lichens, fungi or plants, or derivatives thereof, e.g. traditional herbal medicines
- A61K36/06—Fungi, e.g. yeasts
- A61K36/062—Ascomycota
- A61K36/064—Saccharomycetales, e.g. baker's yeast
Definitions
- the present invention generally relates to the use of compositions containing certain probiotic organisms to treat yeast infections, more specifically candidiasis in an animal.
- the probiotic compositions are useful in preventing, reducing the severity of and treating infections such as thrush, vaginitis, urinary tract infections and gastroenteritis caused by Candida.
- a method for enhancing the immune system of an animal which comprises the enteral administration of at least one bacteria selected from L. reuteri, B. infantis and B. lactis.
- Candida infections are typically encountered in seriously ill patients. Patients on antibiotic therapy, immuno-compromised (e.g., ADDS patients) and patients undergoing radiation therapy, chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation are especially susceptible to candidiasis. Organisms of the genus Candida are now the third most commonly isolated from blood cultures resulting in an attributable mortality of 38% in non-neutropenic hosts. Infections with species Candida albicans (C. albicans) may also occur in newborn infants and in individuals who receive intravenous alimentation. The omnipresent yeast, C. albicans, infects nearly all individuals at some time during life and, unless the inoculum is very large or the individual's defenses are compromised, most infections are superficial or subclinical.
- Oral candidiasis or thrush is a yeast infection characterized by creamy white spots usually on the tongue or inner cheek surface. C. albicans have also been associated with diaper rashes or cutaneous lesions. Thrush is most common in infants and has become more common in adults, especially those with AIDS. Left untreated, this disease may spread to other parts of the mouth and to the throat, lungs, gastrointestinal tract and skin. The infection is usually cured by antibiotics but can occasionally be fatal. Disseminated (dispersed through tissue, organs or the entire body) candidiasis occurs in about 7 to 8% of infants colonized with the organism. It often occurs as a consequence of contaminated intravenous solutions in infants of less than 28 weeks gestation and those infants on intravenous alimentation are at the greatest risk.
- Inner vaginal and uterine infection with Candida are also common.
- C. albicans are the most common species associated with vaginitis or vaginal yeast infections.
- Many therapies and products are available to treat vaginitis; however, certain females are especially prone to this malady for unknown reasons. Women who have had a vaginal yeast infection are at a greater risk for repeat infections.
- Candida is widely distributed and can be considered normal flora in healthy individuals. Overgrowth typically occurs after antibiotic therapy or in immuno-compromised individuals, and is especially a problem in women suffering recurrent vaginal yeast infections associated with Candida. Candida may cause severe and even fatal disseminated infection with involvement of almost all tissues of the body. Antibiotics enhance the evasiveness of Candida albicans not only by a direct effect on the intestinal flora, but also by depressing the host's defense mechanisms.
- the intestinal mucosa is a major defense barrier against the penetration f harmful substances within the intestinal lumen or gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
- GI gastrointestinal
- Over 300 species of microorganisms have been identified as inhabiting the human intestinal tract. Some of these organisms are beneficial .and some are pathogenic. While different microorganism strains have different biological activities in the host, the association between particular bacterial features and biological activity remains obscure.
- the normal intestinal flora are also known to have an impact on the prevention of harmful bacteria and fungi from penetrating the intestinal wall (dissemination).
- Certain species of lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB) have been promoted as probiotics (live organisms that are ingested to produce beneficial health effects).
- thermophilus was ineffective for protection and did not enhance the immune response; • Reid et al., "Influence of Three Day Antimicrobial Therapy and Lactobacillus Vaginal Suppositories on Recurrence of Urinary Tract Infections", Clinical Therapeutics, Vol. 14, No. 1, 11-15 (1992) reports on the use of L. casei and L. fermentum vaginal suppositories as effective in reducing the reoccurrence of urinary tract infections following antimicrobial therapy;
- Coconnier et al. also reported in J. Diarrhoeal Dis. Res., 1993, Dec; 11(4): 235-242, that heat-killed L. acidophilus (strain LB) exhibited a high adhesive property to human enterocyte cells in culture. They observed that heat-killed L. acidophilus with spent culture supernatant bound to human intestinal cells and inhibited cell association and cell invasion by enteroinvasive pathogens.
- EP 0 577 904 Al to Brassart et al. discloses a mixture of LAB consisting of Lactobacillus acidophilus (CNCM 1-1225), Bifidobacterium breve (CNCM 1-1226), Bifidobacterium infantis (CNCM 1-1127) and Bifidobacterium longum (CNCM 1-1228). This mixture of probiotics is thought to be effective in excluding pathogenic bacteria from the gasfrointestinal tract of a human.
- U.S. Patents 5,531,989 and 5,531,988 to Paul disclose a composition for restoring and maintaining gastrointestinal health which comprises an immunoglobulin, a soluble dietary fiber and optionally, a beneficial human intestinal microorganism including Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria.
- This patent recites numerous probiotics including L. casei, L.fermentum, B. adolescentis, B. infantis, and 2?. bifidum.
- U.S. Patent 5,573,765 to Reinhard et al. discloses a composition for the treatment of vaginal yeast infections comprising ethylene glycol, a buffered aqueous acetate solution and cells of a Lactobacillus species.
- This patent discloses the use of L. acidophilus, L.jensenii and L. casei in its composition. This patent also discloses that the composition be used as a douche.
- the present invention has many aspects and in its first aspect the invention provides a method for reducing the incidence and/or reducing the severity of candidiasis in an animal, said method comprising the admimstration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from L. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable L. acidophilus and nonviable L. casei.
- the candidiasis may be caused by the organisms such as Candida par apsilosis, Candida tropicalis, or Torulopsis glabrata, but is typically caused by Candida albicans.
- Candidiasis can take the form of an oral, epidermal, intestinal tract, alimentary canal, urinary tract or genital (vaginal) infection.
- CFU colony forming units
- a more preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises the administration of at least two of the probiotics, for example L. reuteri plus B. infantis or L. reuteri plus B. lactis.
- a recited probiotic plus at least one additional microorganism such as L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. fermentum, B. breve, L. casei, Saccharomyces boulardii, L. cellobiosus, L. plantarum, B. bifidum, B. longum, L. salivaroes, L. breve, B. adolescentis, B. therophilum, B. animalis, S. thermophilus, L. casei subsp. rhamnosus, L. rhamnosus and the like.
- the invention provides a method for enhancing the immune system of an animal, said method comprising the adrninistration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from B. infantis, B. lactis, and nonviable L. acidophilus.
- the invention provides a method for reducing the translocation of a pathogenic organism in an animal, said method comprising the administration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from L. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis and nonviable L. Acidophilus.
- a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from L. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis and nonviable L. Acidophilus.
- the compositions containing the recited probiotics may also additionally contain excipients, adjuvants, protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and trace elements.
- the composition can take any acceptable form such as a powder, pill, capsule, suppository, cream, tablet, food bar, confection or liquid.
- compositions an be accomplished enterally or parenterally, typically, or in the form of suppositories such as intervaginal suppositories, and compositions can be specially formulated with the intended route of administration in mind, as is known in the art.
- One feature of the invention is the discovery that viable organisms and non-viable organisms (e.g., heat killed) of X. reuteri, B. infantis and B. lactis perform almost equally in the methods of the invention.
- viable organisms and non-viable organisms e.g., heat killed
- the present invention is also directed to enhancing the circulating antibody in an animal, the method comprising the administration to said animal of an effective amount of at least one probiotic selected from X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei.
- Yet additional aspects of the invention relate to a method for: 1) increasing the immune response in an animal to an antigen; 2) for reducing the duration and severity of Candida infections of the mouth, gastrointestinal tract and urogenital tract; and 3) for inhibiting Candida adhesion, colonization and dissemination from the alimentary canal of an animal. All of these methods utilize the admimstration of at least one, preferably two and most preferably one of the recited probiotics (X.
- reuteri, B. infantis or B. lactis either in viable or nonviable form, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei) and one additional probiotic such as X. acidophilus, X. fermentum, X. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, B. breve, S. boulardii, X. cellobiosus, X. casei, L. plantarum, B. bifidum, X. salifaroes, X. breve, B. adolescentis, B. therophilum, X. casei subsp. rhamnosus, X. rhamnosus and the like.
- the invention also relates to a method comprising the step of administering to an animal at least one probiotic selected from X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei at a level and for a time sufficient to result in at least one probiotic effect selected from reducing the incidence of candidiasis, reducing the severity of candidiasis, enhancing the immune system, reducing the translocation of a pathogenic organism, enhancing the level of serum antibodies and increasing the immune response in an animal.
- probiotic selected from X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei at a level and for a time sufficient to result in at least one probiotic effect selected from reducing the incidence of candidiasis, reducing the severity of candidiasis, enhancing the immune system, reducing the translocation of a pathogenic organism, enhancing the level of serum antibodies and increasing the
- probiotic and “biotherapeutic agent” have been used in the Hterature to describe microorganisms that have antagonistic activity towards pathogens in vivo.
- probiotic includes the known class of microorganisms such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus casei GG and Saccharomyces boulardii. More specifically, the term probiotic refers to the microorganisms that the present inventors have discovered to be effective against Candida infections and enhancing the immune system. These probiotics are X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei.
- nonviable means that the probiotic is not living or capable of living.
- Nonviable probiotics are prepared by subjecting a living microorganism to conditions, such as heat, radiation or chemicals, that render the organism dead or incapable of metaboUsm and reproduction.
- a viable probiotic is capable of metabolizing sources of energy and reproduction.
- any recited microorganism in the specification and claims means in viable and/or nonviable form.
- Candida means an infection caused by any number of species of this fungus or yeast.
- the candidiasis may be caused by the organisms such as Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, or Torulopsis glabrata, but is typically caused by Candida albicans.
- Candidiasis can take the form of an oral, epidermal, intestinal tract, alimentary canal, urinary tract or genital (vaginal) infection.
- organisms of the genus Candida are common in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals. In the normal animal GI tract, Candida proliferation is believed to be controlled by the normal bacteria flora in the GI tract of the animal, the cellular and humoral immune system of the animal and a viable mucosal barrier.
- the methods of the present invention are primarily directed to individuals that, due to chemical therapies (e.g., antibiotic or immunosuppressive therapies for organ transplants) or disease states (e.g., AIDS, cancer, leukemia and the like) are susceptible to an overgrowth of the fungus and its subsequent translocation from the alimentary canal to the other major organs of the body.
- chemical therapies e.g., antibiotic or immunosuppressive therapies for organ transplants
- disease states e.g., AIDS, cancer, leukemia and the like
- translocation refers to the migration of a pathogenic organism from one are of a host to another. Typically the first area is one where the organism might normally be found and perhaps is not even pathogenic, unless and until the migration to the second area.
- a specific example of translocation in a woman is the migration of an enteric organism from the anorectal area to throughout the perineum to the vaginal or uninary tracts. Poor hygeine can facilitate translocation of thisl nature.
- the terms "X. reuteri ", "B. infantis “, “B. lactis “, “L. acidophilus “, and "X. case? include other species of microorganisms that have at least 92% rRNA homology or sequence similarity with the recited organism. More preferably, the other species have at least 95% and most preferably at least 97% sequence similarity with the recited organism.
- microorganisms such as B. indicum, B. longum, B. pseudolongum and B. suis have 99% sequence similarity to B. infantis and thus would be considered equivalent to B. infantis.
- the phylogenetic positioning of microorganisms is discussed by Meile et al. in System Appl Microbiol , 20, 57-64 (1997). Numerous type strains are known for B. infantis; however, ATCC No. 27920 is preferred for use in the methods of this invention.
- B. animalis is known to have more than 92% homology with B. lactis and thus would be equivalent to B. lactis in the methods of the present invention.
- B. lactis is a relatively new strain that was isolated from French yogurt and feces.
- B. animalis is phenotypically almost indistinguishable from B. lactis. These organisms are useful in the recited methods either in viable or non-viable form.
- X. reuteri is a member of the genus Lactobacillus and is found in the gastrointestinal tracts of humans, swine, poultry and other animals. A number of type strains of this species are known and are effective in the methods recited herein. Most preferred are the type strains that are isolated from the animal in which the methods claimed herein are to be employed. Thus, when treating a human, X. reuteri strains such as ATCC No. SP2112 are preferred. It has also been found that the methods according to this invention can be accomplished through the adr ⁇ inistration of live microorganisms or non- viable microorganisms.
- the other two specific microorganisms used in the present invention are of the genus Bifidobacterium which occur in the intestine of man, various animals and honey bees. They are gram-positive, non-acid-fast, nonspore-forming and nonmotile microorganisms. More information on Bifidobacterium can be found in Bergey 's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Vol. 2, Section 15 "Irregular, Nonsporing, Gram-Positive Rods", Peter H.A. Sneath (ed.) (1986). For example, Bifidobacterium are a group of microorganisms that have been determined by the present inventors to be effective against Candida infections and useful in enhancing the immune system.
- the Bifidobacterium useful in the present invention are rods of various shapes which are gram-positive, non-acid-fast, nonspore-forming and nonmotile. They are anaerobic; however, some species can tolerate O 2 only in the presence of C0 2 . Carbohydrates are digested or fermented by these organisms to produce acetic and lactic acid primarily in the molar ratio of 3 :2.
- Representative of the Bifidobacterium useful in this invention include B. indicum, B. pseudolongum, B. longum, B. infantis, B. animalis, B. lactis and B. suis. More preferred microorganisms useful in the present invention include B. infantis, B. longum, B. bifidum, B. animalis and B. lactis; with B. infantis and B. lactis being the most preferred.
- nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei used in the present invention are known to those skilled in the microbiological arts and are prepared (e.g., rendered nonviable) through techniques such as heat killing.
- the preferred strain of X. acidophilus used in this invention is the strain designated X. acidophilus NCFM.
- One aspect of the present invention resides in the discovery that enteral consumption of at least one microorganism selected from X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei is effective in preventing or treating a Candida infection.
- X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei are effective in reducing the severity of infections caused by Candida and especially the species Candida albicans.
- An advantage of X. reuteri is that it has no known toxicity, has excellent adhesion characteristics to the intestinal lumen and produces an antibiotic designated as reuterin.
- reuteri is a fairly new designated species of Lactobacillus and the neotype strain of X. reuteri is DSM20016 (ATCC No. 53609). This strain and another strain, ATCC No. SP2112 are available to the public at the American Type Culture Collection (Rockville, Maryland), having been deposited therein under the Budapest Treaty on April 17, 1987 and December 7, 1995, respectively.
- U.S. Patents 5,352,586, 5,439,678 and 5,413,960 to Dobrogosz and Lindegrenn disclose the use of X. reuteri under controlled conditions to produce the broad spectrum antimicrobial substance termed reuterin. These patents provide significant information on one of the microorganisms utilized in the present invention.
- U.S. Patent 5,339,678 claims a method for providing a probiotic to an animal which comprises feeding the animal X. reuteri.
- the compositions useful in the invention comprise at least one probiotic selected from! reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei. As mentioned previously, the X. reuteri, B. infantis and B.
- lactis may be viable or nonviable. More preferably, the compositions comprise two, such as X. reuteri and B. lactis or X. acidophilus and B. lactis. While the compositions useful in the various methods of this invention may be as simple as lyophilized powders of the probiotics, the compositions may also take numerous forms such as capsules, topical creams, suppositories (e.g., vaginal suppositories), mouthwash, douches, tablets, pills, food products and liquids.
- suppositories e.g., vaginal suppositories
- the compositions are in the form of nutritional supplements or enteral nutritional products.
- the nutritional supplements for example may contain, in addition to the probiotics, certain macro- and micronutrients that are specifically designed to nutritionally assist the patient that is immuno-compromised through HIN infection, radiation treatments, chemotherapy or the like.
- the compositions can thereby include protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, trace elements and the like.
- Exemplary nutritional formulations include Jevity and Ensure, both trademarks of nutritional products available form Ross Product Division of Abbott Laboratories.
- a particularly preferred embodiment of this invention relates to a nutritionally complete formula suitable for feeding infants, including pre-term infants.
- a nutritionally complete formula suitable for feeding infants including pre-term infants.
- Such a preferred composition comprises protein, carbohydrates and lipids at levels and of types that are known to those skilled in the art of infant nutrition.
- Exemplary infant formulas include Similac and Similac Special Care, both trademarks of nutritional products available form Ross Product Division of Abbott Laboratories.
- An additional preferred embodiment of this invention relates to a nutritionally complete formula suitable for feeding adults. These enteral nutritionals are known by those skilled in the art to be nutritionally complete so that an individual can be given their entire daily nutritional needs by consuming up to 2 liters of nutritional product.
- the methods according to the present invention require that the individual consume at least 10 4 CFU of at least one of the recited probiotics. More preferably, the individual will consume at least 10 6 CFU of the probiotics per day and most preferably the individual will consume at least 10 7 CFU of each of the selected probiotics per day.
- the probiotics may be supplied in the form of lyophilized powder which can be mixed with a pre-formed liquid nutritional product (e.g., milk or commercial infant formula) and consumed.
- a pre-formed liquid nutritional product e.g., milk or commercial infant formula
- the invention also contemplates a powdered nutritional formula containing the probiotic organisms at levels which would deliver the minimum colony forming units (CFUs) during a typical day of feeding.
- compositions and methods of this invention are particularly useful for the prophylactic treatment of individuals susceptible to candidiasis.
- the invention and compositions also are useful for the therapeutic management of individuals infected with microorganisms of the genus Candida.
- females that experience chronic yeast infections of the vagina and the urinary tract would benefit from the consumption or use of the compositions disclosed herein as would infants, children, and AIDS patients -with thrush (oral candidiasis) and Candida diaper rash.
- AIDS patients would benefit from the compositions disclosed herein as the likelihood of acquiring a Candida infection would be decreased, and if acquired, would experience less translocation of the Candida from the alimentary canal.
- Immuno-compromised patients would also benefit from the stimulation of the immune system as demonstrated by the compositions herein.
- probiotics tested were X. acidophilus, L. reuteri, X. casei GG, B. infantis and B. lactis.
- C57BL/6 bglbg-nulnu and bglbg-nul+ mice were obtained from breeding stocks maintained at the University of Wisconsin Gnotobiotic Laboratory, Madison, WI.
- the bglbg-nulnu mice are athymic while the bglbg-nul+ mice were euthymic.
- Germfree (GG) male bglbg-nulnu and female bglbg-nul+ mice were mated to obtain litters of approximately equal numbers of nude and heterozygous mice. Groups of breeder mice, their progeny and all adult mice were housed in sterile flexible film isolators and colonized with pure cultures of C.
- mice colonized with a probiotic species were inoculated at least one week after probiotic colonization with C. albicans (1 x 10 7 CFU/ml). All mice were given autoclave-sterilized food, water and bedding, ad libitum. Weekly cultures were carried out to verify the microbial integrity of the experiment.
- Probiotic and C. albicans colonization of the GI tracts of mice was assayed by counting colonies of viable probiotic bacteria recovered from feces and the contents of the stomach, small intestines, cecum and colon. Contents were washed out of the intestines with sterile water, serially diluted, and 50 ⁇ l aliquots were inoculated onto SDA and MRS agar plates. The MRS plates were anaerobically incubated overnight at 37°C. A 1 ml aliquot of each 5 ml suspension of intestinal contents was dried overnight in a tared aluminum weighing dish at 80°C. The dried dishes were cooled to room temperature and weighed. • The number of CFU on SDA plates for C. albicans and on MRS for probiotic bacteria is designated per gram dry weight of contents.
- the spleen, liver and kidneys were aseptically excised, homogenized in glass tissue grinders with 5 ml sterile distilled water, serially diluted and cultured on SDA or anaerobic MRS agar plated overnight at 37°C to assess systemic dissemination of C. albicans and the probiotics.
- the average number of the bacteria in the internal organs were measured as log 10 CFU/g (dry wt.) tissue.
- mice The GI tracts and major internal organs of the mice were fixed in 10% formaldehyde in pH 7.4 phosphate-buffered saline (PBS).
- PBS pH 7.4 phosphate-buffered saline
- the fixed tissues were dissected, embedded in paraffin, and sectioned onto slides for staining with hematoxylin and eosin, and for Gram stains.
- Tissue sections of the entire alimentary tracts and the major internal organs were evaluated by a pathologist for evidence of infection and inflammation by the following criteria: Histopathology score in infected tissues — (1) 1-10 microorganisms (yeast and hyphae of C.
- albicans /HP ⁇ (high power field, 400X), (2) 10-50 microorganisms/HPF, (3) 50-100 microorganisms/HPF, (4) confluent microorganisms/HPF, and (5) confluent microorganisms/HPF with hyphal penetration of viable tissues (yeast and hyphae of C. albicans).
- Serum immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA, and IgM) concentrations were determined with commercial radial im unodiffusion assays (The Binding Site, San Diego, CA). Western immunblots were used to evaluate total polyvalent antibody responses and C. albicans-s-pecific IgA antibody responses to antigens of C.
- Alkaline phosphatase conjugated polyclonal goat anti-mouse IgG, IgA, IgM was used to detect serum antibodies that bound to C. albicans antigens on the blots.
- Lymphocytes from the spleens of C. ⁇ /_»zc ⁇ «_-monoassociated, and C. albicans plus probiotic-colonized mice were assayed for proliferative responses to mitogens and microbial antigens, as described in Cantorna et al., "Role of CD 4+ Lymphocytes in Resistance to Mucosal Candidiasis". Infect.Immun., Vol. 59: 2447-2435. Lymphocyte proliferation assays were performed with the CellTiter Aqueous 96 assay (Promega, Corp., Madison, WI). Lymphocytes from the spleens of GF, C. 6 c ⁇ w-monoassociated, and C.
- mice were prepared and incubated at a density of 5 x 10 5 cells/well of a 96- well culture plate containing mitogens and antigens. Each mitogen or antigen was added to 3 wells with spleen cells at the following optimal concentrations: 10 ⁇ g lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (Sigma)/well, 0.5 ⁇ g concanavalin A (ConA) (Sigma)/well, 10 ⁇ g antigen preparation from each probiotic or C. albicans.
- LPS lipopolysaccharide
- ConA concanavalin A
- lymphocytes in response to mitogens or antigens were measured as absorbence of reduced MTS (3-(4,5-dimethyli azol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymemoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfonyl)-2H-tetrazoUum, inner salt) at 490 nm, which was measured with an ELISA plate reader (Dynatech Laboratories, Inc., Chantilly, VA ). The average of three wells per sample was used to determine the mean ⁇ SEM Abs490 for three mice per group.
- Two-way ANOVA with the factors of treatment group and sex, was employed to detect significant differences in body weights of probiotic-colonized adult and neonatal mice and to assess significant differences between histopathology severity scores from tissue sections of mice with mucosal candidiasis over increasing time intervals.
- Each group is the mean ⁇ SEM from 4-21 mice/group at 4 to 8 weeks after colonization. * Significantly fewer C. albicans than in C. ⁇ /.zc ⁇ ns-monoassociated mice, ⁇ 0.05. b Significantly fewer C. albicans than in C. ⁇ / ⁇ ic ⁇ s-monoassociated mice, P ⁇ 0.01. 5 Only 1 mouse was analyzed due to rapid mortality in this group. d Significantly fewer C. albicans than in C. _/6 ⁇ ' c ⁇ s-monoassociated mice, PO.001.
- C. albicans were reduced by B. infantis and B. lactis in the stomach, cecum, colon, and feces of bglbg-nulnu mice. Neither C. albicans nor any of the probiotic bacteria were eliminated from the alimentary tracts of the mice over the 12-week study. Compared with the numbers of probiotic bacteria in the GI tracts of the mice colonized with only a probiotic bacteria, C. albicans did not significantly reduce the number of probiotic bacteria isolated from the mice (data not shown).
- C. albicans Mean ⁇ SEM loglO CFU C. albicans/g homogenized tissues (spleen, liver, and kidney). ° Significantly less than the C. _/_ ⁇ ' c_w_-monoassoci_ted control, P ⁇ 0.05.
- mice/group Percentage of mice with histopathology-proven candidiasis of tongue ⁇ esophagus, stomach, or hard palate, 4-12 weeks after colonization, (4 to 26 mice/group).
- C. albicans C. albicans
- confluent microorganisms/HPF yeast and hyphae of C. albicans
- confluent microorganisms HPF with hyphal penetration of viable tissues yeast and hyphae of C. albicans.
- Probiotic bacteria protect im munodeficient mice from lethal candidiasis.
- Table 4 sets forth the data relating to survival rates.
- mice All adult bglbg-nulnu mice died within 2 to 8 weeks after colonization with a pure culture of C. albicans. In contrast, adult bglbg-nul+ mice survived monoassociation with C. albicans. The survival of adult bglbg-nulnu mice was significantly prolonged in mice co-colonized with C. albicans plus X. acidophilus B. lactis or B. infantis compared to the survival of C. ⁇ / ⁇ t ' c ⁇ ns-monoassociated bglbg-nulnu mice.
- Table 5 sets forth the immunoglobulin isotypes (IgG, IgA, and IgM) which were quantified in sera from mice colonized for 4 weeks with C. albicans or C. albicans plus a probiotic bacterium. TABLE S
- Athymic bglbg-nulnu mice did not produce significant levels of serum IgA except when colonized with C. albicans plus B. infantis or C. albicans plus B. lactis; however, serum IgG was increased in bglbg-nulnu mice colonized with C. albicans alone or with C. albicans plus B. infantis or C. albicans plus B. lactis.
- X. acidophilus or X. casei GG prevented the C. albicans- ⁇ n ⁇ ice ⁇ increase of serum IgG in bglbg-nulnu mice.
- GI tract colonization by C. albicans, or probiotic bacteria plus C. albicans increased serum IgG, IgA, and IgM in sera from bglbg-nul+ mice over GF levels.
- Table 6 sets forth the data from the in vitro lymphocyte proliferation assays.
- mice co-colonized with C. albicans plus X. casei GG, B. infantis or B. lactis evidenced reduced lymphocyte proliferative responses (mitogenic) to lipopolysaccharide.
- lymphocyte proliferation to C. albicans antigens was greater with splenocytes from bglbg-nul+ mice co-colonized with C. albicans plus X. casei GG or B. infantis than with lymphocytes from C. ⁇ /_»/c ⁇ _-monoassociated mice.
- B. infantis and B. lactis significantly decreased the incidence and severity of orogastric candidiasis.
- the data also support the conclusion that B. infantis and B. lactis enhanced the resistance of the animal to candidiasis to a greater extent than the other three probiotic bacteria studied. It can be therefore concluded that B. infantis and B. lactis enhances the immune system and thereby resistance to mucosal and systemic candidiasis. Without being bound to any theory or mechanism of action, the observation that probiotic inhibition of C.
- albicans growth in the alimentary tract did not always correlate with protection from orogastric candidiasis suggests that probiotic stimulation of host defense mechanisms may be more important than bacterial inhibition of pathogens such as C. albicans in the intestinal tract in protecting animals from disease such as orogastric or systemic oandidiasis caused by Candida.
- X. acidophilus and B. infantis enhanced the inflammatory response in infected mucosal tissues of bglbg-nulnu mice (data not shown).
- X. acidophilus and B. infantis enhanced the recruitment of inflammatory cells to a C. albicans -infected mucosal tissue without the involvement of thymus-matured T cells.
- the capacity of probiotic bacteria to enhance inflammatory responses likely contributed to the prolonged survival and decreased disseminated candidiasis observed in these mice.
- B. infantis, L. acidophilus, X. casei GG, B. lactis or C. albicans could induce IgA production in bglbg-nul+ mice, but only C. albicans plus B. infantis together induced IgA production in bglbg-nulnu mice.
- IgA production is generally considered to be thymus-dependent; however, euthymic mice are capable of T cell-dependent processes via mucosal T cells of extrathymic origin and maturation.
- the results from this experiment also demonstrated that B. infantis and B. lactis, but not the other three probiotic bacteria tested, have the unique capacity to stimulate a T-dependent IgA antibody response in athymic mice.
- lactis are good adjuvants for oral stimulation of immune responses via thymus-dependent and thymus-independent (mucosal-associated lymphoid tissues) mechanisms. This is a surprising result as no other probiotic bacteria have been shown to stimulate host immune responses via mucosal-associated lymphoid tissues.
- B. infantis and B. lactis were the most effective probiotics of the five bacteria studied, and provided the best overall protection against orogastric and systemic candidiasis.
- Enhanced or expanded biotherapeutic effects can be achieved by combining several probiotic bacteria to protect immunodeficient hosts from candidiasis, such as X. acidophilus, X. casei GG or X. reuteri with B. infantis or B. lactis.
- dead probiotics for biotherapy has several interesting aspects.
- dead bacteria are easier to incorporate into products such as powdered, liquid or solid foods or other product applications such as suppositories, pills or capsules as they can be terminally sterilized to increase shelf life.
- non-viable or dead bacteria do not have the potential to cause infections, translocate from gastrointestinal tract or cause autoinflammatory disease.
- the beige-athymic (bglbg-nulnu) mouse has dysfunctional pagocytic cells, lacks thymus matured T cells and is susceptible to lethal candidiasis under gnotobiotic conditions as seen in Experiment I.
- the isogenic bglbg-nul+ mouse has functional T cell-mediated immunity and is resistant to lethal candidiasis under gnotobiotic conditions.
- the animals were fed 1 x 10 10 heat killed X. acidophilus NCFM (HKLA) or heat killed X. casei GG (HKLC) per mL in their drinking water (mice consume about 5 mL/day) for 7 days prior to oral challenge with C. albicans.
- NCFM heat killed X. acidophilus NCFM
- HKLC heat killed X. casei GG
- albicans inoculation of gnotobiotic mice was carried out by swabbing their oral cavities with a pure culture of viable C. albicans (1 x 10 7 CFU/mL).
- the feeding of HKLA or HKLC in the drinking water was continued throughout the experiment and the mice were fed sterile rodent chow (Purina 50 IOC, Ralston Purina, St. Louis) ad libitum.
- a control group consisted of germfree mice that were not treated with HKLA or HKLC, but they were orally challenged with C. albicans.
- mice were maintained in the experimental groups for 4 to 8 weeks, at which time they were euthanized and evaluated for the effects of HKLA or HKLC on mucosal and systemic candidiasis. Survival of the test and control mice was assessed at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after oral challenge with C. albicans.
- C. albicans colonization of the GI tracts was assayed as described in Experiment I.
- the dissemination of candidiasis and the histological evaluations were also conducted as set forth in Experiment I. Lymphocytes from the spleens of C. albicans colonized bglbg-nul+ mice treated with HKLA or HKLC were assayed for proliferative responses to B and T cell mitogens and antigens from C. albicans, X. acidophilus and X. casei GG, in a manner similar to that set forth in Experiment I.
- ANOVA Repeated measures Analysis of Variance
- Table 7 sets forth the dissemination data for the various test groups. TABLE 7
- Feeding heat-killed probiotic bacteria decreased the incidence of C. albicans dissemination in bglbg-nulnu (colonized with C. albicans for 2 weeks) and bglbg-nul+ (colonized with C. albicans for 4 weeks) mice, and diminished the number of viableC. albicans isolated from internal organs
- No. ofC. albicans Mean + SEM loglO CFU C. albicans/g homogenized tissues (1/3 spleen, 1/3 liver, 1/2 kidney combined). c Significantly less C. albicans dissemination than untreated control, p ⁇ 0.05 by ANOVA. 4 Mice were fed lx 10 10 HKLA or HKLC/mL of drinking water (in 5 mL consumed per day) 1 week prior to an continuously after colonization with C. albicans.
- HKLA or HKLC altered the severity of orogastric candidiasis.
- HKLC decreased (at 2 weeks) the severity of orogastric candidiasis in the stomachs, esophagi, tongues, and hard palates
- HKLA reduced the severity of candidiasis in the stomachs, esophagi, and hard palates.
- Effects of HKLA or HKLC on C. albicans colonization of the GI tracts was also determined. It was found that feeding HKLA or HKLC to the animals did not prevent colonization of their alimentary tracts of C. albicans.
- Feeding heat-killed X. acidophilus significantly enhanced the in vitro responses of spleen cells from bzlbg-nul+ mice to C. albicans antigens and mitogens
- Table 9 evidences that enhanced lymphoproliferative responses of splenocytes from bglbg-nul+ mice to C. albicans antigens and the mitogens LPS and concanavalin A in mice colonized for 4 and 8 weeks with C. albicans. Feeding of HKLA also increased the lymphoproliferative response to X. acidophilus antigens. However, HKLC did not significantly increase lymphoproliferative responses to X. casei or C. albicans antigens but it did enhance responses to LPS and concanavalin A (data not presented).
- dead probiotics protected the athymic mice better from severe orogastric candidiasis than the Uve bacteria
- dead bacteria inhibit orogastric candidiasis by a mechanical (e.g., adherence) mechanism rather than immuno-stimulation, since the protection was evident in bglbg-nulnu mice, which are deficient in both innate and acquired immune functions.
- Another probiotic attribute of viable organisms seen in Experiment I was their capacity to suppress the number of viable C. albicans in the GI tracts of bglbg-nulnu and bglbg-nul+ mice. Feeding the animals HKLA or HKLC also significantly reduced the numbers of viable C.
- Immimostimulation is considered to be a mechanism whereby probiotics induce biotherapeutic effects in the host.
- viable X. casei GG , B. infantis and B. lactis enhanced the capacity of spleen cells to proliferate in response to C. albicans antigens in vitro.
- HKLA treatment significantly enhanced the proliferative response of splenocytes to B and T cell mitogens and C albicans antigens at 4 and 8 weeks after bglbg-nul+ mice were colonized with C. albicans, while HKLC stimulated splenocyte proliferation to B and T cell mitogens, but not to C. albicans antigens.
- the discovery disclosed herein provides the medical community with an alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy. More importantly, the invention claimed herein provides a means to proactively address potential candidiasis through the regular application or consumption of the probiotics recited herein.
- the present invention is low in cost, easy to administer and has little or no side effects. These are benefits that the medical profession is constantly searching for.
Abstract
The present invention provides a method for preventing or treating candidiasis, said method comprising the enteral administration to an animal in need of therapy, an effective amount of at least one probiotic selected from Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis, nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus and nonviable Lactobacillus casei. Additional aspects of this invention relate to a method for 1) increasing the immune response in an animal to an antigen; 2) reducing the duration and severity of Candida infections of the skin, mouth, gastrointestinal tract and urogenital tract; and 3) inhibiting Candida adhesion, colonization and dissemination from the gastrointestinal tract of an animal. All methods according to the present invention utilize the administration of at least one, preferably two and most preferably one of the recited probiotics (L. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable L. acidophilus or nonviable L. casei) and one additional probiotic such as Bifidobacterium breve, Lactobacillus fermentum and the like to an animal in need of treatment.
Description
COMPOS ITION OF TREATMENT OF CANDIDIAS IS
Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to the use of compositions containing certain probiotic organisms to treat yeast infections, more specifically candidiasis in an animal. The probiotic compositions are useful in preventing, reducing the severity of and treating infections such as thrush, vaginitis, urinary tract infections and gastroenteritis caused by Candida. Also disclosed is a method for enhancing the immune system of an animal which comprises the enteral administration of at least one bacteria selected from L. reuteri, B. infantis and B. lactis.
Background of the Invention
Candida infections are typically encountered in seriously ill patients. Patients on antibiotic therapy, immuno-compromised (e.g., ADDS patients) and patients undergoing radiation therapy, chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation are especially susceptible to candidiasis. Organisms of the genus Candida are now the third most commonly isolated from blood cultures resulting in an attributable mortality of 38% in non-neutropenic hosts. Infections with species Candida albicans (C. albicans) may also occur in newborn infants and in individuals who receive intravenous alimentation. The omnipresent yeast, C. albicans, infects nearly all individuals at some time during life and, unless the inoculum is very large or the individual's defenses are compromised, most infections are superficial or subclinical.
Oral candidiasis or thrush is a yeast infection characterized by creamy white spots usually on the tongue or inner cheek surface. C. albicans have also been associated with diaper rashes or cutaneous lesions. Thrush is most common in infants and has become more common in adults, especially those with AIDS. Left untreated, this disease may spread to other parts of the mouth and to the throat, lungs, gastrointestinal tract and skin. The infection is usually cured by antibiotics but can occasionally be fatal. Disseminated (dispersed through tissue, organs or the entire body) candidiasis occurs in about 7 to 8% of
infants colonized with the organism. It often occurs as a consequence of contaminated intravenous solutions in infants of less than 28 weeks gestation and those infants on intravenous alimentation are at the greatest risk.
Inner vaginal and uterine infection with Candida are also common. C. albicans are the most common species associated with vaginitis or vaginal yeast infections. Many therapies and products are available to treat vaginitis; however, certain females are especially prone to this malady for unknown reasons. Women who have had a vaginal yeast infection are at a greater risk for repeat infections.
Candida is widely distributed and can be considered normal flora in healthy individuals. Overgrowth typically occurs after antibiotic therapy or in immuno-compromised individuals, and is especially a problem in women suffering recurrent vaginal yeast infections associated with Candida. Candida may cause severe and even fatal disseminated infection with involvement of almost all tissues of the body. Antibiotics enhance the evasiveness of Candida albicans not only by a direct effect on the intestinal flora, but also by depressing the host's defense mechanisms.
The intestinal mucosa is a major defense barrier against the penetration f harmful substances within the intestinal lumen or gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Over 300 species of microorganisms have been identified as inhabiting the human intestinal tract. Some of these organisms are beneficial .and some are pathogenic. While different microorganism strains have different biological activities in the host, the association between particular bacterial features and biological activity remains obscure. The normal intestinal flora are also known to have an impact on the prevention of harmful bacteria and fungi from penetrating the intestinal wall (dissemination). Certain species of lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB) have been promoted as probiotics (live organisms that are ingested to produce beneficial health effects). Several biotherapeutic effects have been attributed to LAB including ameUorating lactose intolerance, enhancing recovery of commensal flora after antibiotic therapy, prophylaxis and treatment of infant diarrhea, and the reduction of recurrent urinary tract and vaginal infections. Marteau and Rambaud provide an excellent review of articles and data supporting therapeutic or prophylactic properties of LAB products in man. See Marteau et al., "Potential of using lactic acid bacteria for therapy and immuno modulation in man", FEMS Microbiology Reviews, Vol. 12 (1993) 207-220.
Candidiasis of mucosal tissues such as the vagina, intestines and oral cavity are very common and numerous studies have assessed the efficacy of recited probiotics for the prophylaxis and therapy of C. albicans infection. The following publications and observations are exemplary: • Satonaka et al., "Prophylactic Effect of Enterococcus faecalis FK-23 Preparation on
Experimental Candidiasis in Mice", Microbiol. Immunol, 40(3), 217-222 (1996) reports the prophylactic effects of the heat-killed organism FK-23 on candidiasis, and that oral or intraperitoneal administration of FK-23 significantly prolongs survival periods of infected mice; • Hilton et al., "Ingestion of Yogurt Containing Lactobacillus acidophilus as Prophylaxis for Candidal Vaginitis", Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 116, 353-357 (1992) reports the result of a clinical study wherein a three-fold decrease in vaginitis was seen when patients consumed yogurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus;
• Berg et al., "Inhibition of Candida albicans Translocation from the Gasfrointestinal Tract of Mice by Oral Administration of Saccharomyces boulardiF, The Journal of
Infectious Diseases, Vol. 168, 1314-8 (1993) reports on the ability of orally administered viable Saccharomyces boulardii to inhibit Candida albicans translocation from the gastrointestinal tract;
• Drutz, "Lactobacillus Prophylaxis for Candida Vaginitis", Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 116, No. 5, 419-420 (1992) reports that L. acidophilus and L. bulgarcius isolated from three commercial yogurts were compared with L. acidophilus, L. fermentum, L. cellobiosus and L. casei isolated from normal vaginal cultures and American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) sources. No significant differences were found among the clinical isolates and the ATCC isolates; however, the Lactobacillus species isolated from yogurt demonstrated a significantly lower level of adherence to mucosal cells than the other isolates;
• De Petrino et al. "Protective Ability of Certain Lactic Acid Bacteria against an Infection with Candida albicans in a Mouse Immunosuppression Model by Corticoid" Food and Agricultural Immunology, Vol. 7, 365-373 (1995) reports that the oral adnainistration of L. casei and L. bulgaricus in corticoid immunosuppressed animals demonstrated protection against C. albicans infection. De Petrino et al. also reported that S. thermophilus was ineffective for protection and did not enhance the immune response;
• Reid et al., "Influence of Three Day Antimicrobial Therapy and Lactobacillus Vaginal Suppositories on Recurrence of Urinary Tract Infections", Clinical Therapeutics, Vol. 14, No. 1, 11-15 (1992) reports on the use of L. casei and L. fermentum vaginal suppositories as effective in reducing the reoccurrence of urinary tract infections following antimicrobial therapy;
• Perdigon et al., "The Oral Administration of Lactic Acid Bacteria Increase the Mucosal Intestinal Immunity in Response to Enteropathogens", Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 33, No. 5, 404-410 (1990), reports that normal mice were protected against Salmonella typhimurium infection by previous feeding of L. casei and S. salrvarius spp. thermophilus, while L. acidophilus and L. delbrueckii spp. bulgaricus were not effective. Perdigon et al. also reported that only L. casei increased the IgA production in intestinal secretions providing adequate defenses at mucosal surfaces.
Numerous authors have also investigated the capabilities of probiotics on the immune system. The following publications and observations are exemplary.
• Kato et al., "Macrophage Activation by Lactobacillus casei in Mice", Microbiol Immunol, Vol. 27, (7), 611-618, (1983) disclose thatZ. casei YIT 9018 (LC 9018) has antitumor activity in allogeneic and syngeneic murine tumor, • Perdigon et al., in a number of references of which the following is representative, "Probiotic Bacteria for Humans: Clinical Systems for Evaluation of Effectiveness", Journal of Dairy Science, 78:1597-1606 (1995) studied the effect on the systemic immune response of I. acidophilus, L. casei, L. delbrueckii spp. bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus and yogurt. The authors concluded that L. casei could prevent enteric infections but that the effect was dose-dependent and that yogurt could inhibit the growth of intestinal carcinoma, increasing the level of IgA and the activity of intestinal macrophages;
• Link et al., "Immunomodulation of the Gnotobiotic Mouse Through Colonization with Lactic Acid Bacteria", Advances in Mucosal Immunology, edited by J. Mestecky et al., Plenum Press, New York (1995), discusses the development of the mucosal immune system as influenced by L. acidophilus, L. casei GG and L. bulgaricus in the germ-free rodent model;
• De Simone et al. "The Role of Probiotics in Modulation of the Immune System in Man and in Animals", IntJ. Immunotherapy DC (I), 23-28 (1993) presents a review of the influence of yogurt and yogurt bacteria on immune responses in man and animals; and
• Schiffrin et al. "Immunomodulation of Human Blood Cells Following the Ingestion of Lactic Bacteria", Journal of Dairy Science, Vol. 78, 491 -497 (1995) reports on a study which was performed using fermented milk supplemented with L. acidophilus strain Lai or Bifidobacterium bifidum strain Bb 12 for three weeks. The authors suggest that these particular strains can be useful to improve the immune function of the neonate or the elderly.
Investigations have also been conducted on the use of viable and nonviable probiotics to enhance the immune system of mammals. Perdigon et al., Infection and Immunity, Aug., 1986, pages 404-410, investigated the effect of perorally (p.o.) administered L. casei and Lactobacillus bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus), (viable and nonviable cells) on macrophage activation. The investigators reported that for p.o. administration, the phagocytic activity increased only when L. casei was used. L. bulgaricus had little effect and no differences were found between viable and nonviable cells. Boullocke et al., Extract and Translation ofAnnales de Pediatrie, 1994, 41(7), reports a three year, double blind placebo controlled study carried out in infants and young children with acute diarrhea to evaluate the efficacy of killed L. acidophilus (LB strain) versus a placebo or loperamide. The investigators found that, compared to the placebo group, mean time to passage of the first normal stool was decreased by twenty seven (27) hours in the L. acidophilus group.
Coconnier et al. also reported in J. Diarrhoeal Dis. Res., 1993, Dec; 11(4): 235-242, that heat-killed L. acidophilus (strain LB) exhibited a high adhesive property to human enterocyte cells in culture. They observed that heat-killed L. acidophilus with spent culture supernatant bound to human intestinal cells and inhibited cell association and cell invasion by enteroinvasive pathogens.
None of these references suggest or disclose the use of L. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable L. acidophilus and/or nonviable L. casei to reduce the incidence of Candida infection in an animal. Further, these articles fail to teach the use of viable probiotics or non-viable probiotics to enhance the immune system of an animal.
U.S. Patents 5,352,586, 5,439,678 and 5,413,960 to Dobrogosz and Lindegrenn disclose the use of L. reuteri under controlled conditions to produce the broad spectrum antimicrobial substance termed reuterin. These patents provide significant information on one of the microorganisms utilized in the present invention. U.S. Patent 5,339,678 claims a method for providing a probiotic to an animal which comprises feeding the animal L. reuteri.
International Publication No. WO 94/00139 to Dobrogosz et al. discloses a method of providing a beneficial effect on the immune system of poultry. L. reuteri preparations are disclosed as being administered to newly hatched chickens and turkeys to modulate the animals' immune response.
EP 0 577 904 Al to Brassart et al. discloses a mixture of LAB consisting of Lactobacillus acidophilus (CNCM 1-1225), Bifidobacterium breve (CNCM 1-1226), Bifidobacterium infantis (CNCM 1-1127) and Bifidobacterium longum (CNCM 1-1228). This mixture of probiotics is thought to be effective in excluding pathogenic bacteria from the gasfrointestinal tract of a human.
U.S. Patents 5,531,989 and 5,531,988 to Paul disclose a composition for restoring and maintaining gastrointestinal health which comprises an immunoglobulin, a soluble dietary fiber and optionally, a beneficial human intestinal microorganism including Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria. This patent recites numerous probiotics including L. casei, L.fermentum, B. adolescentis, B. infantis, and 2?. bifidum.
U.S. Patent 5,573,765 to Reinhard et al. discloses a composition for the treatment of vaginal yeast infections comprising ethylene glycol, a buffered aqueous acetate solution and cells of a Lactobacillus species. This patent discloses the use of L. acidophilus, L.jensenii and L. casei in its composition. This patent also discloses that the composition be used as a douche.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention has many aspects and in its first aspect the invention provides a method for reducing the incidence and/or reducing the severity of candidiasis in an animal, said method comprising the admimstration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from L. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable L. acidophilus and nonviable L. casei. The candidiasis may be caused by the organisms such as Candida par apsilosis, Candida tropicalis, or Torulopsis glabrata, but is typically caused by Candida albicans. Candidiasis can take the form of an oral, epidermal, intestinal tract, alimentary canal, urinary tract or genital (vaginal) infection. Typically, adrαinistration of at least 104 colony forming units (CFU) per day of the selected probiotic will be effective. More preferred dosages range from 106 to 1012 CFU per day and most preferred is 107 to 1010 CFU per day.
While the administration of only one probiotic has been shown effective, a more preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises the administration of at least two of the probiotics, for example L. reuteri plus B. infantis or L. reuteri plus B. lactis. Also within the scope of this invention is the administration of a recited probiotic plus at least one additional microorganism such as L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. fermentum, B. breve, L. casei, Saccharomyces boulardii, L. cellobiosus, L. plantarum, B. bifidum, B. longum, L. salivaroes, L. breve, B. adolescentis, B. therophilum, B. animalis, S. thermophilus, L. casei subsp. rhamnosus, L. rhamnosus and the like.
There is also disclosed a method for reducing the severity of candidiasis in an animal, said method comprising the admimstration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from L. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable L. acidophilus and nonviable L. casei. In another aspect, the invention provides a method for enhancing the immune system of an animal, said method comprising the adrninistration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from B. infantis, B. lactis, and nonviable L. acidophilus.
In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method for reducing the translocation of a pathogenic organism in an animal, said method comprising the administration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from L. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis and nonviable L. Acidophilus.
The compositions containing the recited probiotics may also additionally contain excipients, adjuvants, protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and trace elements. The composition can take any acceptable form such as a powder, pill, capsule, suppository, cream, tablet, food bar, confection or liquid. The administration of the inventive compositions an be accomplished enterally or parenterally, typically, or in the form of suppositories such as intervaginal suppositories, and compositions can be specially formulated with the intended route of administration in mind, as is known in the art.
One feature of the invention is the discovery that viable organisms and non-viable organisms (e.g., heat killed) of X. reuteri, B. infantis and B. lactis perform almost equally in the methods of the invention.
The present invention is also directed to enhancing the circulating antibody in an animal, the method comprising the administration to said animal of an effective amount of at least one probiotic selected from X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei. Yet additional aspects of the invention relate to a method for: 1) increasing the immune response in an animal to an antigen; 2) for reducing the duration and severity of Candida infections of the mouth, gastrointestinal tract and urogenital tract; and 3) for inhibiting Candida adhesion, colonization and dissemination from the alimentary canal of an animal. All of these methods utilize the admimstration of at least one, preferably two and most preferably one of the recited probiotics (X. reuteri, B. infantis or B. lactis, either in viable or nonviable form, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei) and one additional probiotic such as X. acidophilus, X. fermentum, X. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, B. breve, S. boulardii, X. cellobiosus, X. casei, L. plantarum, B. bifidum, X. salifaroes, X. breve, B. adolescentis, B. therophilum, X. casei subsp. rhamnosus, X. rhamnosus and the like.
The invention also relates to a method comprising the step of administering to an animal at least one probiotic selected from X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei at a level and for a time sufficient to result in at least one probiotic effect selected from reducing the incidence of candidiasis, reducing the severity of candidiasis, enhancing the immune system, reducing the translocation of a pathogenic organism, enhancing the level of serum antibodies and increasing the immune response in an animal.
Other aspects of the invention are described through this application.
Detailed Description of the Invention General Terminology The terms "probiotic" and "biotherapeutic agent" have been used in the Hterature to describe microorganisms that have antagonistic activity towards pathogens in vivo. As used in this application, the term "probiotic" includes the known class of microorganisms such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus casei GG and Saccharomyces boulardii. More specifically, the term probiotic refers to the microorganisms that the present inventors have discovered to be effective against Candida infections and enhancing the immune system. These probiotics are X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei.
The term "nonviable" means that the probiotic is not living or capable of living. Nonviable probiotics are prepared by subjecting a living microorganism to conditions, such as heat, radiation or chemicals, that render the organism dead or incapable of metaboUsm and reproduction. In contrast, a viable probiotic is capable of metabolizing sources of energy and reproduction. Unless designated as nonviable, any recited microorganism in the specification and claims means in viable and/or nonviable form.
The term "candidiasis" means an infection caused by any number of species of this fungus or yeast. The candidiasis may be caused by the organisms such as Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, or Torulopsis glabrata, but is typically caused by Candida albicans. Candidiasis can take the form of an oral, epidermal, intestinal tract, alimentary canal, urinary tract or genital (vaginal) infection. As mentioned previously, organisms of the genus Candida are common in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals. In the normal animal GI tract, Candida proliferation is believed to be controlled by the normal bacteria flora in the GI tract of the animal, the cellular and humoral immune system of the animal and a viable mucosal barrier. It is known that antibiotic therapy, cytotoxic/ immunosuppressive therapies and other factors associated with immunocompromised individuals are associated with enhanced Candida proliferation in animals and humans. Thus, the methods of the present invention are primarily directed to individuals that, due to chemical therapies (e.g., antibiotic or immunosuppressive therapies for organ transplants) or disease states (e.g., AIDS, cancer, leukemia and the like) are susceptible to an overgrowth
of the fungus and its subsequent translocation from the alimentary canal to the other major organs of the body.
As used herein, "translocation" refers to the migration of a pathogenic organism from one are of a host to another. Typically the first area is one where the organism might normally be found and perhaps is not even pathogenic, unless and until the migration to the second area. A specific example of translocation in a woman is the migration of an enteric organism from the anorectal area to throughout the perineum to the vaginal or uninary tracts. Poor hygeine can facilitate translocation of thisl nature.
Organisms and Compositions
As used herein and in the claims, the terms "X. reuteri ", "B. infantis ", "B. lactis ", "L. acidophilus ", and "X. case? include other species of microorganisms that have at least 92% rRNA homology or sequence similarity with the recited organism. More preferably, the other species have at least 95% and most preferably at least 97% sequence similarity with the recited organism.' For example, microorganisms such as B. indicum, B. longum, B. pseudolongum and B. suis have 99% sequence similarity to B. infantis and thus would be considered equivalent to B. infantis. The phylogenetic positioning of microorganisms is discussed by Meile et al. in System Appl Microbiol , 20, 57-64 (1997). Numerous type strains are known for B. infantis; however, ATCC No. 27920 is preferred for use in the methods of this invention.
In similar fashion, B. animalis is known to have more than 92% homology with B. lactis and thus would be equivalent to B. lactis in the methods of the present invention. B. lactis is a relatively new strain that was isolated from French yogurt and feces. B. animalis is phenotypically almost indistinguishable from B. lactis. These organisms are useful in the recited methods either in viable or non-viable form.
X. reuteri is a member of the genus Lactobacillus and is found in the gastrointestinal tracts of humans, swine, poultry and other animals. A number of type strains of this species are known and are effective in the methods recited herein. Most preferred are the type strains that are isolated from the animal in which the methods claimed herein are to be employed. Thus, when treating a human, X. reuteri strains such as ATCC No. SP2112 are preferred. It has also been found that the methods according to this invention can be
accomplished through the adrαinistration of live microorganisms or non- viable microorganisms.
The other two specific microorganisms used in the present invention are of the genus Bifidobacterium which occur in the intestine of man, various animals and honey bees. They are gram-positive, non-acid-fast, nonspore-forming and nonmotile microorganisms. More information on Bifidobacterium can be found in Bergey 's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Vol. 2, Section 15 "Irregular, Nonsporing, Gram-Positive Rods", Peter H.A. Sneath (ed.) (1986). For example, Bifidobacterium are a group of microorganisms that have been determined by the present inventors to be effective against Candida infections and useful in enhancing the immune system. The Bifidobacterium useful in the present invention are rods of various shapes which are gram-positive, non-acid-fast, nonspore-forming and nonmotile. They are anaerobic; however, some species can tolerate O2 only in the presence of C02. Carbohydrates are digested or fermented by these organisms to produce acetic and lactic acid primarily in the molar ratio of 3 :2. Representative of the Bifidobacterium useful in this invention include B. indicum, B. pseudolongum, B. longum, B. infantis, B. animalis, B. lactis and B. suis. More preferred microorganisms useful in the present invention include B. infantis, B. longum, B. bifidum, B. animalis and B. lactis; with B. infantis and B. lactis being the most preferred.
The nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei used in the present invention are known to those skilled in the microbiological arts and are prepared (e.g., rendered nonviable) through techniques such as heat killing. The preferred strain of X. acidophilus used in this invention is the strain designated X. acidophilus NCFM.
One aspect of the present invention resides in the discovery that enteral consumption of at least one microorganism selected from X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei is effective in preventing or treating a Candida infection. As will be shown below, X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei are effective in reducing the severity of infections caused by Candida and especially the species Candida albicans. An advantage of X. reuteri is that it has no known toxicity, has excellent adhesion characteristics to the intestinal lumen and produces an antibiotic designated as reuterin. X. reuteri is a fairly new designated species of Lactobacillus and the neotype strain of X. reuteri is DSM20016 (ATCC No. 53609). This strain and another strain, ATCC No. SP2112 are available to the
public at the American Type Culture Collection (Rockville, Maryland), having been deposited therein under the Budapest Treaty on April 17, 1987 and December 7, 1995, respectively.
U.S. Patents 5,352,586, 5,439,678 and 5,413,960 to Dobrogosz and Lindegrenn disclose the use of X. reuteri under controlled conditions to produce the broad spectrum antimicrobial substance termed reuterin. These patents provide significant information on one of the microorganisms utilized in the present invention. U.S. Patent 5,339,678 claims a method for providing a probiotic to an animal which comprises feeding the animal X. reuteri. The compositions useful in the invention comprise at least one probiotic selected from! reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei. As mentioned previously, the X. reuteri, B. infantis and B. lactis may be viable or nonviable. More preferably, the compositions comprise two, such as X. reuteri and B. lactis or X. acidophilus and B. lactis. While the compositions useful in the various methods of this invention may be as simple as lyophilized powders of the probiotics, the compositions may also take numerous forms such as capsules, topical creams, suppositories (e.g., vaginal suppositories), mouthwash, douches, tablets, pills, food products and liquids.
In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the compositions are in the form of nutritional supplements or enteral nutritional products. The nutritional supplements for example may contain, in addition to the probiotics, certain macro- and micronutrients that are specifically designed to nutritionally assist the patient that is immuno-compromised through HIN infection, radiation treatments, chemotherapy or the like. The compositions can thereby include protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, trace elements and the like. Exemplary nutritional formulations include Jevity and Ensure, both trademarks of nutritional products available form Ross Product Division of Abbott Laboratories.
A particularly preferred embodiment of this invention relates to a nutritionally complete formula suitable for feeding infants, including pre-term infants. Such a preferred composition comprises protein, carbohydrates and lipids at levels and of types that are known to those skilled in the art of infant nutrition. Exemplary infant formulas include Similac and Similac Special Care, both trademarks of nutritional products available form Ross Product Division of Abbott Laboratories.
An additional preferred embodiment of this invention relates to a nutritionally complete formula suitable for feeding adults. These enteral nutritionals are known by those skilled in the art to be nutritionally complete so that an individual can be given their entire daily nutritional needs by consuming up to 2 liters of nutritional product. Independent of the form of the composition, the methods according to the present invention require that the individual consume at least 104 CFU of at least one of the recited probiotics. More preferably, the individual will consume at least 106 CFU of the probiotics per day and most preferably the individual will consume at least 107 CFU of each of the selected probiotics per day. In one aspect of the invention, the probiotics may be supplied in the form of lyophilized powder which can be mixed with a pre-formed liquid nutritional product (e.g., milk or commercial infant formula) and consumed. The invention also contemplates a powdered nutritional formula containing the probiotic organisms at levels which would deliver the minimum colony forming units (CFUs) during a typical day of feeding.
Utility
The compositions and methods of this invention are particularly useful for the prophylactic treatment of individuals susceptible to candidiasis. The invention and compositions also are useful for the therapeutic management of individuals infected with microorganisms of the genus Candida. For example, females that experience chronic yeast infections of the vagina and the urinary tract would benefit from the consumption or use of the compositions disclosed herein as would infants, children, and AIDS patients -with thrush (oral candidiasis) and Candida diaper rash. Further, AIDS patients would benefit from the compositions disclosed herein as the likelihood of acquiring a Candida infection would be decreased, and if acquired, would experience less translocation of the Candida from the alimentary canal. Immuno-compromised patients would also benefit from the stimulation of the immune system as demonstrated by the compositions herein.
Various studies have been designed by the inventors herein to investigate the ability of enteral administration of the probiotics of the invention (X. reuteri, B. infantis, B. lactis, nonviable X. acidophilus and nonviable X. casei) to influence the infections caused by Candida albicans. The animal model used in the following Examples is the gnotobiotic, beige-nude mouse. This animal model is known by those skilled in the art to reflect the immuno-compromised human. These mice are susceptible (naturally) to oral, esophageal
and systemic candidiasis of endogenous origin. The natural susceptibility of these mice is important because conventional mice are not normally susceptible to this disease. The demonstrated activity of this invention in this animal model is highly predictive of efficacy in the human. The invention will be better understood in view of the following Examples which are illustrative only and should not be construed as limiting the invention.
EXPERIMENT I
In this experiment, five (5) probiotic species were evaluated in a congenitally immuno-deficient mouse model to determine if the probiotics could prevent or reduce the severity of mucosal candidiasis and systemic candidiasis. The five (5) probiotics tested were X. acidophilus, L. reuteri, X. casei GG, B. infantis and B. lactis.
Materials. Commercial starter cultures of probiotic bacteria were obtained from the following sources: Lactobacillus acidophilus (NCFM), X. reuteri (ATCC #SP2112) and Bifidobacterium infantis (ATCC #27920) were from Phone Poulene Specialty Cultures of Madison, Wisconsin.. The X. casei GG (ATCC #53103) was obtained from Valio, LTD of Helsinki, Finland. The B. lactis was obtained from Chr. Hansen's Laboratory, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has been designated B. lactis (URI (DSM 10140). All bacteria grown overnight in deMann, Rogosa, Sharpe (MRS) medium (Difco, Detroit, MI) or on plates of MRS medium with 1.5% agar in anaerobe jars containing anaerobic generators (AnaeroPack System; Carr-Scarborough Microbiologies, Decatur, GA) at 37°C. C. albicans was cultured on Sabouraud's dextrose agar (SDA; BBL, Becton-Dickinson Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, MD). Microbiological identification and characterization was conducted using the API 50CH biochemical identification system (BioMereiux Vitek, St. Louis, MO) and fatty acid analysis by gas-liquid chromatography (Microbial ID, Inc., Newark, DE).
C57BL/6 bglbg-nulnu and bglbg-nul+ mice (congenitally immuno-deficient) were obtained from breeding stocks maintained at the University of Wisconsin Gnotobiotic Laboratory, Madison, WI. The bglbg-nulnu mice are athymic while the bglbg-nul+ mice were euthymic. Germfree (GG) male bglbg-nulnu and female bglbg-nul+ mice were mated to obtain litters of approximately equal numbers of nude and heterozygous mice. Groups of breeder mice, their progeny and all adult mice were housed in sterile flexible film isolators
and colonized with pure cultures of C. albicans or one of each probiotic species of inoculating their oral and anal orifices with 1 ml (1 x 107 CFU/ml) of the microbe. Mice colonized with a probiotic species were inoculated at least one week after probiotic colonization with C. albicans (1 x 107 CFU/ml). All mice were given autoclave-sterilized food, water and bedding, ad libitum. Weekly cultures were carried out to verify the microbial integrity of the experiment.
Procedures. Probiotic and C. albicans colonization of the GI tracts of mice was assayed by counting colonies of viable probiotic bacteria recovered from feces and the contents of the stomach, small intestines, cecum and colon. Contents were washed out of the intestines with sterile water, serially diluted, and 50 μl aliquots were inoculated onto SDA and MRS agar plates. The MRS plates were anaerobically incubated overnight at 37°C. A 1 ml aliquot of each 5 ml suspension of intestinal contents was dried overnight in a tared aluminum weighing dish at 80°C. The dried dishes were cooled to room temperature and weighed. • The number of CFU on SDA plates for C. albicans and on MRS for probiotic bacteria is designated per gram dry weight of contents.
The spleen, liver and kidneys were aseptically excised, homogenized in glass tissue grinders with 5 ml sterile distilled water, serially diluted and cultured on SDA or anaerobic MRS agar plated overnight at 37°C to assess systemic dissemination of C. albicans and the probiotics. The average number of the bacteria in the internal organs were measured as log 10 CFU/g (dry wt.) tissue.
The GI tracts and major internal organs of the mice were fixed in 10% formaldehyde in pH 7.4 phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The fixed tissues were dissected, embedded in paraffin, and sectioned onto slides for staining with hematoxylin and eosin, and for Gram stains. Tissue sections of the entire alimentary tracts and the major internal organs were evaluated by a pathologist for evidence of infection and inflammation by the following criteria: Histopathology score in infected tissues — (1) 1-10 microorganisms (yeast and hyphae of C. albicans)/HPΕ (high power field, 400X), (2) 10-50 microorganisms/HPF, (3) 50-100 microorganisms/HPF, (4) confluent microorganisms/HPF, and (5) confluent microorganisms/HPF with hyphal penetration of viable tissues (yeast and hyphae of C. albicans).
Serum immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA, and IgM) concentrations were determined with commercial radial im unodiffusion assays (The Binding Site, San Diego, CA). Western immunblots were used to evaluate total polyvalent antibody responses and C. albicans-s-pecific IgA antibody responses to antigens of C. albicans and probiotics. Alkaline phosphatase conjugated polyclonal goat anti-mouse IgG, IgA, IgM (Sigma) was used to detect serum antibodies that bound to C. albicans antigens on the blots.
Lymphocytes from the spleens of C. α/_»zcα«_-monoassociated, and C. albicans plus probiotic-colonized mice were assayed for proliferative responses to mitogens and microbial antigens, as described in Cantorna et al., "Role of CD4+ Lymphocytes in Resistance to Mucosal Candidiasis". Infect.Immun., Vol. 59: 2447-2435. Lymphocyte proliferation assays were performed with the CellTiter Aqueous 96 assay (Promega, Corp., Madison, WI). Lymphocytes from the spleens of GF, C. 6 cαw-monoassociated, and C. albicans plus probiotic-colonized mice were prepared and incubated at a density of 5 x 105 cells/well of a 96- well culture plate containing mitogens and antigens. Each mitogen or antigen was added to 3 wells with spleen cells at the following optimal concentrations: 10 μg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (Sigma)/well, 0.5 μg concanavalin A (ConA) (Sigma)/well, 10 μg antigen preparation from each probiotic or C. albicans. The proliferation of lymphocytes in response to mitogens or antigens was measured as absorbence of reduced MTS (3-(4,5-dimethyli azol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymemoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfonyl)-2H-tetrazoUum, inner salt) at 490 nm, which was measured with an ELISA plate reader (Dynatech Laboratories, Inc., Chantilly, VA ). The average of three wells per sample was used to determine the mean ± SEM Abs490 for three mice per group.
Statistical analyses. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated to assess the significance of observed differences in survival of bglbg-nulnu mice colonized with C. albicans or with C. albicans plus a probiotic bacterium. Differences between the curves were tested with the log rank test as set forth in "Statistical Methods", 7th ed., p. 149-160, Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA. Repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test for differences in numbers of viable C. albicans between internal organs within mice and also between the various treatment groups. The data were log transformed to better meet the assumptions of ANOVA. Two-way ANOVA, with the factors of treatment group and sex, was employed to detect significant differences in body
weights of probiotic-colonized adult and neonatal mice and to assess significant differences between histopathology severity scores from tissue sections of mice with mucosal candidiasis over increasing time intervals.
RESULTS
Probiotic suppression of C. albicans colonization. Weekly cultures of feces from bglbg-nulnu and bglbg-nul+ mice verified that each group of mice was continuously colonized with either C. albicans alone or with C. albicans and one of the probiotic bacteria. In euthymic bglbg-nul+ mice, X. casei GG, B. lactis and B. infantis significantly inhibited C. albicans throughout the GI tract, by as much as 100-fold compared with C. α/ifcαrø-monoassociated mice. The data are set forth in Table 1.
TABLE 1
Each group is the mean ± SEM from 4-21 mice/group at 4 to 8 weeks after colonization. * Significantly fewer C. albicans than in C. α/.zcαns-monoassociated mice, <0.05. b Significantly fewer C. albicans than in C. α/όicαπs-monoassociated mice, P<0.01. 5 Only 1 mouse was analyzed due to rapid mortality in this group. d Significantly fewer C. albicans than in C. _/6ι'cαΛs-monoassociated mice, PO.001.
The number of viable C. albicans were reduced by B. infantis and B. lactis in the stomach, cecum, colon, and feces of bglbg-nulnu mice. Neither C. albicans nor any of the probiotic bacteria were eliminated from the alimentary tracts of the mice over the 12-week study. Compared with the numbers of probiotic bacteria in the GI tracts of the mice
colonized with only a probiotic bacteria, C. albicans did not significantly reduce the number of probiotic bacteria isolated from the mice (data not shown).
Probiotic inhibition of systemic candidiasis. Table 2 sets forth the data relating to systemic candidiasis. TABLE 2
Inhibition of svstemic candidiasis of endogenous (GI tract) origin by probiotic bacteria
* Data not available due to early mortality. NG = No growth
* % mice with disseminated candidiasis, 4 to 27 mice/group, euthanized at 4 to 12 weeks after colonization. b No. of C. albicans = Mean ± SEM loglO CFU C. albicans/g homogenized tissues (spleen, liver, and kidney). ° Significantly less than the C. _/_ι'c_w_-monoassoci_ted control, P<0.05.
Compared to C. albicans dissemination in mice colonized with only C. albicans
(75%) dissemination in bglbg-nulnu mice and 36% dissemination in bglbg-nul+ mice), the presence of probiotic bacteria in the alimentary tract reduced the incidence of disseminated candidiasis in both mouse strains.
Orogastric candidiasis in mice colonized with C. albicans and probiotic bacteria. Table 3 sets forth the data relating to the incidence and severity of orogastric candidiasis.
TABLE 3
Incidence and severity of orogastric candidiasis in mice co-colonized with C. albicans plus probiotic bacteria
* Percentage of mice with histopathology-proven candidiasis of tongue^ esophagus, stomach, or hard palate, 4-12 weeks after colonization, (4 to 26 mice/group).
D Mean severity score for mucosal candidiasis. Histopathology score in infected tissues: (1) 1-10 microorganisms HPF (high powerfield, 400X), (2) 10-50 microorganisms HPF, (3) 50-100 microorganisms/HPF (yeast and hyphae of
C. albicans), (4) confluent microorganisms/HPF (yeast and hyphae of C. albicans), (5) confluent microorganisms HPF with hyphal penetration of viable tissues (yeast and hyphae of C. albicans).
0 Significantly decreased from C. αtόicαnj-monoassociated mice, P < 0.05 by repeated measures ANOVA.
A significant reduction in the incidence and severity of orogastric candidiasis was observed in bglbg-nul+ mice colonized with C. albicans and B. infantis or with C. albicans and B. lactis and in bglbg-nulnu mice colonized with C. albicans and B. lactis.
Probiotic bacteria protect im munodeficient mice from lethal candidiasis. Table 4 sets forth the data relating to survival rates.
TABLE 4
Probiotic Bacteria Protect Immunodeficient Mice from Lethal Candidiasis
♦No data because of early deaths. Significantly decreased lethality compared to C. α/fcicαrts-monoassociated control. •/>< 0.05, "P < 0.01.
All adult bglbg-nulnu mice died within 2 to 8 weeks after colonization with a pure culture of C. albicans. In contrast, adult bglbg-nul+ mice survived monoassociation with C. albicans. The survival of adult bglbg-nulnu mice was significantly prolonged in mice co-colonized with C. albicans plus X. acidophilus B. lactis or B. infantis compared to the survival of C. α/όt'cαns-monoassociated bglbg-nulnu mice.
All bglbg-nulnu mice born to dams that were monoassociated with C. albicans died at less than 4 weeks of age. Survival of bglbg-nulnu pups born to dams colonized with C. albicans and a probiotic bacterium was significantly prolonged compared to C. α fø'ασiy-monoassociated mice. More protection from lethality was afforded to pups by X. acidophilus B. lactis and B. infantis than by X. reuteri or X. casei GG.
Modulation of host immune responses to C. albicans by probiotic bacteria.
Table 5 sets forth the immunoglobulin isotypes (IgG, IgA, and IgM) which were quantified in sera from mice colonized for 4 weeks with C. albicans or C. albicans plus a probiotic bacterium. TABLE S
Serum immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA, and IgM) responses in gnotobiotic mice colonized with probiotic bacteria and or C. albicans
' Significantly greater than germfree control, P < 0.05 by ANOVA. Results are from 5 mice group. * Data not available due to early deaths and cannibalism. NAV - Data not available at present
Athymic bglbg-nulnu mice did not produce significant levels of serum IgA except when colonized with C. albicans plus B. infantis or C. albicans plus B. lactis; however, serum IgG was increased in bglbg-nulnu mice colonized with C. albicans alone or with C. albicans plus B. infantis or C. albicans plus B. lactis. Interestingly, we observed that the presence of X. acidophilus or X. casei GG prevented the C. albicans-ϊnώiceά increase of serum IgG in bglbg-nulnu mice. GI tract colonization by C. albicans, or probiotic bacteria plus C. albicans increased serum IgG, IgA, and IgM in sera from bglbg-nul+ mice over GF levels.
The induction of specific serum immi oglobulins (IgG, IgA, or IgM) to C. albicans antigens was further investigated by Western blotting. The results indicated that sera from C. albicans colonized bglbg-nul+ mice and mice colonized with C. albicans plus a
probiotic bacterium contained antibodies (IgG, IgA, and IgM) that bound to a variety of C albicans antigens. It was also observed that a diverse antibody response to C. albicans antigens was detected in sera from bglbg-nulnu mice co-colonized with C. albicans plus X. acidophilus B. infantis or B. lactis that were not produced by C. α/όtcαns-monoassociated bglbg-nulnu mice or bglbg-nulnu mice co-colonized with G albicans plus X. cαsez GG. Mice associated with C albicans and _?. /αctz's had enhanced antibody responses to C. albicans, which was more significant than for mice monoassociated with C. albicans or any other probiotic.
Table 6 sets forth the data from the in vitro lymphocyte proliferation assays.
TABLE 6
Proliferation of lymphocytes from mice co-colonized with C. albicans plus probiotic bacteria to antigens from C. albicans or probiotic bacteria
Significantly greater than C. albicans-monoassociateά mice, P < 0.05. b N.D. = Not done.
The splenocytes from mice co-colonized with C. albicans plus X. casei GG, B. infantis or B. lactis evidenced reduced lymphocyte proliferative responses (mitogenic) to lipopolysaccharide. Conversely, lymphocyte proliferation to C. albicans antigens was greater with splenocytes from bglbg-nul+ mice co-colonized with C. albicans plus X. casei GG or B. infantis than with lymphocytes from C. α/_»/c π_-monoassociated mice.
When compared to C. albicans (pure culture)-colonized mice, all five probiotic bacteria tested not only prolonged the survival of beige-nude mice after oral colonization with C. albicans, but were also able to decrease the incidence of disseminated candidiasis in both strains of mice. The presence of a functional thymus is apparently not necessary for the probiotic bacteria to enhance survival and decrease disseminated candidiasis. The five
probiotic bacteria that were studied in this Example differed in their biotherapeutic effects on candidiasis. The best overall biotherapeutic effects were observed with B. infantis and B. lactis. B. infantis and B. lactis prolonged survival, decreased systemic dissemination, inhibited C. albicans in the alimentary tract and stimulated antibody- and cell-mediated immunity. In bglbg-nul+ mice, B. infantis and B. lactis significantly decreased the incidence and severity of orogastric candidiasis. The data also support the conclusion that B. infantis and B. lactis enhanced the resistance of the animal to candidiasis to a greater extent than the other three probiotic bacteria studied. It can be therefore concluded that B. infantis and B. lactis enhances the immune system and thereby resistance to mucosal and systemic candidiasis. Without being bound to any theory or mechanism of action, the observation that probiotic inhibition of C. albicans growth in the alimentary tract did not always correlate with protection from orogastric candidiasis suggests that probiotic stimulation of host defense mechanisms may be more important than bacterial inhibition of pathogens such as C. albicans in the intestinal tract in protecting animals from disease such as orogastric or systemic oandidiasis caused by Candida.
This experiment also demonstrated that X. acidophilus and B. infantis enhanced the inflammatory response in infected mucosal tissues of bglbg-nulnu mice (data not shown). Thus, X. acidophilus and B. infantis enhanced the recruitment of inflammatory cells to a C. albicans -infected mucosal tissue without the involvement of thymus-matured T cells. Without being bound to any theory or mechanism of action, the capacity of probiotic bacteria to enhance inflammatory responses likely contributed to the prolonged survival and decreased disseminated candidiasis observed in these mice.
B. infantis, L. acidophilus, X. casei GG, B. lactis or C. albicans could induce IgA production in bglbg-nul+ mice, but only C. albicans plus B. infantis together induced IgA production in bglbg-nulnu mice. IgA production is generally considered to be thymus-dependent; however, euthymic mice are capable of T cell-dependent processes via mucosal T cells of extrathymic origin and maturation. The results from this experiment also demonstrated that B. infantis and B. lactis, but not the other three probiotic bacteria tested, have the unique capacity to stimulate a T-dependent IgA antibody response in athymic mice. Without being bound to any theory or mechanism of action, it is believed that this finding is the result of extrathymic-matured T cells that are present in mucosal tissues. The fact that the test animals were distinctively free of candidiasis in the small and
large intestines, which are the largest lymphoid tissues in the body, suggests that an adequate innate and acquired mucosal immune system exists that is thymus-independεnt and able to prevent C. albicans infections of the small and large intestines. From the results of this experiment, it has been shown that B. infantis and B. lactis are good adjuvants for oral stimulation of immune responses via thymus-dependent and thymus-independent (mucosal-associated lymphoid tissues) mechanisms. This is a surprising result as no other probiotic bacteria have been shown to stimulate host immune responses via mucosal-associated lymphoid tissues.
In summary, B. infantis and B. lactis were the most effective probiotics of the five bacteria studied, and provided the best overall protection against orogastric and systemic candidiasis. Enhanced or expanded biotherapeutic effects can be achieved by combining several probiotic bacteria to protect immunodeficient hosts from candidiasis, such as X. acidophilus, X. casei GG or X. reuteri with B. infantis or B. lactis.
EXPERIMENT II
As the Uterature has reported that non-viable probiotics (heat killed) also have beneficial effects, the following experiment was conducted to investigate if the animal model used in Experiment I would also evidence some beneficial effect from the ingestion of non- viable probiotics. Experiment I clearly indicated that viable (live) probiotic bacteria can protect animals from mucosal and systemic candidiasis.
The use of dead probiotics for biotherapy has several interesting aspects. First, dead bacteria are easier to incorporate into products such as powdered, liquid or solid foods or other product applications such as suppositories, pills or capsules as they can be terminally sterilized to increase shelf life. Second, non-viable or dead bacteria do not have the potential to cause infections, translocate from gastrointestinal tract or cause autoinflammatory disease.
Materials and Methods. The beige-athymic (bglbg-nulnu) mouse has dysfunctional pagocytic cells, lacks thymus matured T cells and is susceptible to lethal candidiasis under gnotobiotic conditions as seen in Experiment I. The isogenic bglbg-nul+ mouse has functional T cell-mediated immunity and is resistant to lethal candidiasis under gnotobiotic conditions. In this experiment, the animals were fed 1 x 1010 heat killed X. acidophilus
NCFM (HKLA) or heat killed X. casei GG (HKLC) per mL in their drinking water (mice consume about 5 mL/day) for 7 days prior to oral challenge with C. albicans. C. albicans inoculation of gnotobiotic mice was carried out by swabbing their oral cavities with a pure culture of viable C. albicans (1 x 107 CFU/mL). The feeding of HKLA or HKLC in the drinking water was continued throughout the experiment and the mice were fed sterile rodent chow (Purina 50 IOC, Ralston Purina, St. Louis) ad libitum. A control group consisted of germfree mice that were not treated with HKLA or HKLC, but they were orally challenged with C. albicans.
The mice were maintained in the experimental groups for 4 to 8 weeks, at which time they were euthanized and evaluated for the effects of HKLA or HKLC on mucosal and systemic candidiasis. Survival of the test and control mice was assessed at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after oral challenge with C. albicans.
C. albicans colonization of the GI tracts was assayed as described in Experiment I. The dissemination of candidiasis and the histological evaluations were also conducted as set forth in Experiment I. Lymphocytes from the spleens of C. albicans colonized bglbg-nul+ mice treated with HKLA or HKLC were assayed for proliferative responses to B and T cell mitogens and antigens from C. albicans, X. acidophilus and X. casei GG, in a manner similar to that set forth in Experiment I.
Repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test for differences in numbers of viable C. albicans in the GI tract and internal organs of mice from the C. albicans-colomzed controls and HKLA- or HKLC-treated and C. albicans-coloτήzed groups. ANOVA with the rank sum test was used to evaluate significance of differences in histopathology scores of C. albicans infected mice. The data were log transformed to better meet the assumptions of ANOVA. Results
Table 7 sets forth the dissemination data for the various test groups.
TABLE 7
Feeding heat-killed probiotic bacteria (HKLA or HKLC) decreased the incidence of C. albicans dissemination in bglbg-nulnu (colonized with C. albicans for 2 weeks) and bglbg-nul+ (colonized with C. albicans for 4 weeks) mice, and diminished the number of viableC. albicans isolated from internal organs
* Number of mice with disseminated candidiasis/number of mice tested.
* No. ofC. albicans = Mean + SEM loglO CFU C. albicans/g homogenized tissues (1/3 spleen, 1/3 liver, 1/2 kidney combined). c Significantly less C. albicans dissemination than untreated control, p<0.05 by ANOVA. 4 Mice were fed lx 1010 HKLA or HKLC/mL of drinking water (in 5 mL consumed per day) 1 week prior to an continuously after colonization with C. albicans.
From Experiment I, it is known that viable probiotics can reduce the incidence of systemic (disseminated) candidiasis. From Table 7 it can be seen that in bglbg-nulnu mice, HKLA significantly reduced the incidence of C. albicans dissemination from the GI tract to internal organs at 1 week after oral challenge. Also, treatment of bglbg-nul+ mice with either HKLA or HKLC decreased the incidence of systemic candidiasis. In addition, HKLA- or HKLC-treated animals had significantly fewer viable C. albicans, in comparison to untreated control mice monoassociated with C. albicans, in their internal organs at 1 and 4 weeks after colonization, respectively.
The histopathological analyses were used to determine whether feeding mice HKLA or HKLC altered the severity of orogastric candidiasis. In bglbg-nulnu mice, HKLC decreased (at 2 weeks) the severity of orogastric candidiasis in the stomachs, esophagi, tongues, and hard palates, whereas HKLA reduced the severity of candidiasis in the stomachs, esophagi, and hard palates.
Effects of HKLA or HKLC on C. albicans colonization of the GI tracts was also determined. It was found that feeding HKLA or HKLC to the animals did not prevent colonization of their alimentary tracts of C. albicans. The number of yeast in the feces reached levels similar to untreated C. α/όzcα s-monoassociated mice by 3 days after oral challenge with C. albicans. However, HKLA or HKLC treatment suppressed, in comparison to untreated C. a/_>z'c_7z_-monoassociated controls, the number of viable C. albicans in the GI tracts of the animals. The data are presented in the following Table 8.
TABLE 8
CFU C. albicans'
a Mean + SEM C ϋ/g C. albicans/g (dry wt) contents from 3 to 6 mice per group, b Significantly fewer viable C. albicans than untreated Control group, p<0.05 by ANOVA. c HKLC = heat killed L. casei GG d HK A = heat killed L. acidophilus
From the data presented, it is evident that significantly fewer viable C. albicans were isolated from the small intestines and ceca of bglbg-nulnu mice treated with HKLA or HKLC at 1 week after challenge; fewer C. albicans were observed in the colons of bglbg-nu/+ mice treated with HKLA at 4 and 8 weeks after oral challenge; and significantly reduced expression of C. albicans was evident in stomachs at 4 weeks, and in small intestines and cecum of HKLC-treated bglbg-nul+ mice at 8 weeks, after challenge with C. albicans.
Splenocyte proliferation of HKLA is set forth in Table 9.
TABLE 9
Feeding heat-killed X. acidophilus (HKLA) significantly enhanced the in vitro responses of spleen cells from bzlbg-nul+ mice to C. albicans antigens and mitogens
% Change from the untreated control n parentheses. Significantly greater than the untreated control, p<0.05 by ANOVA.
The data presented in Table 9 evidences that enhanced lymphoproliferative responses of splenocytes from bglbg-nul+ mice to C. albicans antigens and the mitogens LPS and concanavalin A in mice colonized for 4 and 8 weeks with C. albicans. Feeding of HKLA also increased the lymphoproliferative response to X. acidophilus antigens. However, HKLC did not significantly increase lymphoproliferative responses to X. casei or C. albicans antigens but it did enhance responses to LPS and concanavalin A (data not presented).
Viability of probiotic organisms is assumed to be an important aspect of biotherapeutic efficacy; however, some investigators have reported effects with dead bacteria. In this experiment, is was determined that mice treated with HKLA or HKLC and challenged orally with the pathogenic fungus did not have prolonged survival. Thus, dead probiotic bacteria are apparently unable to enhance host resistance or produce products necessary to protect bglbg-nulnu mice from lethal candidiasis. Prolonged survival of bglbg-nulnu mice after colonization with C. albicans was the only probiotic effect that was observed with viable X. acidophilus and X. casei GG that was not observed with dead bacteria.
In Experiment I, it was demonstrated that viable X. acidophilus and X. casei GG inhibited the dissemination of C. albicans from the gut to internal organs in the mice. In this experiment, HKLA and HKLC decreased disseminated candidiasis in bglbg-nul+ mice at 4 weeks after colonization with C. albicans.
From Experiment I, it was observed that viable X. acidophilus and X. casei GG did not significantly inhibit the incidence or severity of orogastric candidiasis in the animals. In contrast, feeding HKLA or HKLC reduced the severity, but not the incidence of orogastric candidiasis in bglbg-nulnu mice. Thus, dead probiotics protected the athymic mice better from severe orogastric candidiasis than the Uve bacteria Without being bound to any theory or mechanism, it appears from the experiment that dead bacteria inhibit orogastric candidiasis by a mechanical (e.g., adherence) mechanism rather than immuno-stimulation, since the protection was evident in bglbg-nulnu mice, which are deficient in both innate and acquired immune functions. Another probiotic attribute of viable organisms seen in Experiment I was their capacity to suppress the number of viable C. albicans in the GI tracts of bglbg-nulnu and bglbg-nul+ mice. Feeding the animals HKLA or HKLC also significantly reduced the numbers of viable C. albicans in the stomachs and intestines. Thus, viable bacteria are not necessary for the probiotic bacteria to decrease the number of C. albicans in the GI tract. Being metabolically inactive, HKLA and HKLC cannot compete with C. albicans for nutrients. While not being bound to any theory or mechanism, it appears that heat-killed bacteria inhibited C. albicans in the GI tract by blocking tissue adherence sites or by irrtmunostimulation.
Immimostimulation is considered to be a mechanism whereby probiotics induce biotherapeutic effects in the host. As seen in Experiment 1 , viable X. casei GG , B. infantis and B. lactis enhanced the capacity of spleen cells to proliferate in response to C. albicans antigens in vitro. In this experiment, HKLA treatment significantly enhanced the proliferative response of splenocytes to B and T cell mitogens and C albicans antigens at 4 and 8 weeks after bglbg-nul+ mice were colonized with C. albicans, while HKLC stimulated splenocyte proliferation to B and T cell mitogens, but not to C. albicans antigens.
Overall, the results of this experiment show that heat killed bacteria can produce important probiotic effects in animals. In addition, some probiotic attributes, such as protection against orogastric candidiasis may be evoked better with killed bacteria than with viable probiotics. This experiment provides strong evidence that select, nonviable microorganisms can produce probiotic effects in animals.
Industrial Applicability
The incidence of candidiasis in humans, especially immuno-compromised individuals, present the medical community with numerous challenges. While conventional antibiotic therapy is possible, it brings its own set of drawbacks and limitations. The discovery disclosed herein provides the medical community with an alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy. More importantly, the invention claimed herein provides a means to proactively address potential candidiasis through the regular application or consumption of the probiotics recited herein. The present invention is low in cost, easy to administer and has little or no side effects. These are benefits that the medical profession is constantly searching for.
The foregoing examples are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of the invention as described by the following claims. Modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those of skill in the art the manner of carrying it out.
Claims
1. A method for reducing the incidence of candidiasis in an animal, said method comprising the administration to said animal an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis, nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus and nonviable Lactobacillus casei.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said candidiasis is caused by a species selected from Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, Torulopsis glabrata and Candida parapsilosis.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said composition is administered at a level of at least 104 CFU of probiotic per day.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein at least 10s CFU per day of said probiotic is administered to said animal per day and said composition additionally comprises at least one microorganism selected from Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium breve, Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus cellobiosus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus plantarum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus salivaroes, Lactobacillus brevis, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Lactobacillus casei subsp. rhamnosus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium animalis and Bifidobacterium therophilum .
5. A method for reducing the severity of candidiasis in an animal, said method comprising the administration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis, nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus and nonviable Lactobacillus casei.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein said candidiasis is caused by a species selected from Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein said composition is administered at a level of at least 104 CFU of probiotic per day.
8. The method of claim 5 wherein at least 105 CFU per day of said probiotic is administered to said animal per day in a manner selected from enteral, parenteral, topical and intervaginal.
9. The method of claim 5 wherein said composition comprises a nonviable probiotic.
10. A composition comprising Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis and Bifidobacterium lactis.
11. The composition of claim 10 wherein said X. reuteri is at a concentration of at least 104 CFU per gram, and said B. lactis is at a concentration of at least 104 CFU per gram.
12. The composition of claim 11 additionally comprising at least one components selected from the group of protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and trace elements.
13. The composition of claim 10 in the form of a powder, pill, suppository, cream, capsule, tablet, food bar, yogurt, confection or liquid.
14. A method of enhancing the immune system of an animal, said method comprising the administration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis and nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein said composition additionally comprises at least one organism selected from viable Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium breve, Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus cellobiosus, viable Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus plantarum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus salivaroes, Lactobacillus brevis, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Lactobacillus casei subsp. rhamnosus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus , Bifidobacterium animalis and Bifidobacterium therophilum .
16. A method to reduce the translocation of a pathogenic organism in an animal, said method comprising the administration to said animal of an effective amount of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis and nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus.
17. A method of enhancing the circulating antibody in an animal, said method comprising the adnainistration to said animal an effective amount of at least one probiotic selected from Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis, nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus and nonviable Lactobacillus casei.
18. A method of increasing the immune response in an animal to an antigen, said method comprising the administration to said animal of an effective amount of at least one probiotic selected from Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium infantis and nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus.
19. A method for reducing the duration and severity of Candida infection of the mouth, epidermis, gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract or genital tract of an animal, said method comprising the administration to said animal of a composition comprising at least one probiotic selected from Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis, nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus and nonviable Lactobacillus casei.
20. A method for inhibiting Candida adhesion, colonization and dissemination from the gastrointestinal tract of an animal, said method comprising the administration to said animal of at least one probiotic selected from Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis, nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus and nonviable Lactobacillus casei.'
21. A method comprising the step of enterally administering to an animal at least one probiotic selected from Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis, nonviable Lactobacillus acidophilus and nonviable Lactobacillus casei at a level and for a time sufficient to result in at least one probiotic effect selected from reducing the incidence of candidiasis, reducing the severity of candidiasis, enhancing the immune system, reducing the translocation of a pathogenic organism, enhancing the level of serum antibodies and increasing the immune response in said animal.
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US94446097A | 1997-10-06 | 1997-10-06 | |
US08/944,460 | 1997-10-06 |
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PCT/US1998/019587 WO1999017788A1 (en) | 1997-10-06 | 1998-09-18 | Composition of treatment of candidiasis |
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