The synergetic potential of Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus fermentum probiotics in alleviating the outcome of acute toxoplasmosis in mice

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is an immunologically complex disease, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Although there are several therapeutic regimens for such disease, the majority of them have many drawbacks. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to improve the current regimen in an effort to achieve a well-tolerated therapy while also enhancing the host immune response. Famous for their immunomodulatory effect, Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus fermentum probiotics were chosen to be evaluated in this study as an adjuvant therapy against the virulent RH Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) strain. Experimental mice were divided into control and treated groups. The control group was further subdivided into two groups: group I: 10 uninfected mice and group II: 20 infected untreated mice. The treated experimental group was subdivided into three groups (20 mice each); group III: sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SMZ-TMP) treated, group IV: probiotics treated, and group V: SMZ-TMP combined with probiotics. The results obtained revealed that combined therapy increased survival rate and time up to 95% and 16 days, respectively, with an 82% reduction of tachyzoites and marked distortion, as detected by the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Additionally, combined therapy alleviated the severity and the extent of the inflammatory cells’ infiltration, thereby reducing hepatocyte degeneration. Intriguingly, serum IF-γ level showed a significant increase to 155.92 ± 10.12 ng/L with combined therapy, reflecting the immunological role of the combined therapy. The current results revealed that probiotics have a high adjuvant potential in alleviating the impact of toxoplasmosis. Using probiotics as a synergistic treatment to modulate conventional therapy in systemic toxoplasmosis may gain popularity due to their low cost and current availability.

A Sarcocystidae-Specific striated fiber assemblin protein SFA5 is required for parasite division in Toxoplasma gondii

“…In the parasites without treatment with 5-Ph-IAA, we observed that all the staining of markers were localized to the expected locations, and the differential interference constrast Fig. 4 Parasites depleted with SFA5 show pronounced phenotypic defects. Parasites of SFA5-mAID were grown in presence (+) or absence (-) of 5-Ph-IAA for 16 h, followed by IFA analysis using antibodies against markers (green) for the centriole (centrin1), the apicoplast (ACP), the endoplasmic reticulum (Bip), the cytoskeleton tubulin and the inner membrane complex (GAP45, IMC1 and MLC1).…”

“…Of interest is that all severity and pathology of toxoplasmosis originates from tissue destruction caused by the rapid replication cycle of the parasites and by lytic cycle in host cells. In this process, the parasite replication mechanism plays a core role in the maintenance of invasion capability [3][4][5].…”