Vijay Prabha

Title : Potential of lactobacillus plantarum in amelioration of LPS-induced infertility in mouse model

Abstract:

Bacterial infections in the genital tract are one of the causes of female infertility worldwide with a prevalence rate of 30–40 %. Infertility in these cases is generally recognized as a consequence of inflammation. Bacteria may lead to inflammation due to the presence of LPS, as it is the foremost and an abundant component of the outer membrane of the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria. Being one of the primary modulators of the inflammatory response in the host, LPS is widely used to stimulate in vivo inflammation. Recently, advancements in probiotic research and their effect on disease and host immune systems, such as alleviation of allergic symptoms and of inflammatory bowel disease, have been reported. It appears that probiotic lactobacilli may produce a potential anti-inflammatory response, and hence it can be speculated that they might play a therapeutic role in inflammation-induced infertility. Therefore, in the present study, LPS from Escherichia coli was used to induce inflammation in the mouse vagina in order to study its effect on fertility outcome to assess the role of the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum in amelioration of LPS-induced inflammation and infertility. For this, BALB/c mice were infused intravaginally with a single dose of 20 ul sterile normal saline containing 5, 10 or 20 ug LPS and divided into two groups for evaluation of tissue histology and pregnancy outcome. In the first group, aimed at observing changes in tissue histology, inflammation was observed in vaginal sections of mice instilled with a single dose of 20 ug LPS, which were sacrificed on days 2, 5 and 8. In the second group, aimed at evaluating pregnancy outcome, female mice were administered 20 ug LPS, which rendered them infertile upon mating on days 2, 5 and 8. In another experiment, normal histology of vaginal sections was observed in mice administered a single dose of 20 ug LPS, followed by 10⁸ cfu. L. plantarum in 20 ul at 24 h intervals, until the mice were sacrificed on days 2, 5 and 8. Following similar treatment, female mice, when mated with proven male breeder mice on days 2, 5 and 8, retained their fertility and delivered pups. These results were further confirmed by the downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines on treatment with L. plantarum, revealing the role of probiotics in ameliorating inflammation-induced infertility.

Audience Take Away:

1. The audience will get deeper insights into how probiotics can lead to amelioration of infertility induced by microorganisms.
2. This research can be used further to understand the mechanisms of amelioration by Lactobacillus plantarum.
3. Alternative measures can be exploited to ameliorate the infertility caused by various microorganisms. 

Biography:

Dr. (Mrs) Vijay Prabha, is working as Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Panjab  University, Chandigarh, India. She has 30 years of teaching and 40 years of research experience.Her area of expertise is “Role of microorganisms in male and female infertility and exploitation of microbial factors as male and female contraceptive agents”. She has guided number of M.Sc. and Ph.D students.She has about 90 publications in national and international journals. She has also presented her work in various national and international conferences as an invited speaker. She is life member of Association of Microbiologists of India and Panjab University Research Journal of Science. She is editorial board member of various international and national journals.