Growing evidences suggest that Saccharomyces boulardii (SB) is efficacious against bacterial infections and inflammatory bowel diseases. This study investigated the effects of treatment with SB provided in a murine model of typhoid fever. Mice were divided into two groups: (1) control animals challenged with Salmonella Typhimurium (ST), and (2) animals receiving SB, and then challenged with ST. At days 0, 1, 5, 10 and 15 post-challenge, animals were euthanized and tissues collected to analyze bacterial translocation, cytokines, signaling pathways and histological analysis. Survival rate and animal weight were also evaluated. Treatment with SB increased survival rate and inhibited translocation of bacteria after ST challenge. Histological data showed that SB also protected mice against liver damage induced by ST. SB decreased levels of inflammatory cytokines and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38, JNK and ERK1/2), phospho-IκB, p65-RelA, phospho-jun and c-fos in the colon, signal pathways involved in the activation of inflammation induced by ST. Further experiments revealed that probiotic effects were due, at least in part, to the binding of ST to the yeast. Such binding diminishes ST translocation, resulting in decreased activation of signaling pathways which lead to intestinal inflammation in a murine model of typhoid fever.

Previous results in the laboratory of the authors showed that Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain 905, isolated during 'cachaç a' production, was able to colonize and survive in the gastrointestinal tract of germ-free and conventional mice, and to protect these animals against oral challenge with Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium or Clostridium difficile. In the present work, the effects of S. cerevisiae 905 on the translocation of Salm. Typhimurium (mesenteric lymph nodes, Peyer's patches, spleen, liver) as well as on the immune system (number of Kü pffer cells, immunoglobulin production, clearance of Escherichia coli B 41 ) were evaluated in gnotobiotic and/or conventional mice. The treatment with the yeast reduced significantly the translocation of Salm. Typhimurium to liver in gnotobiotic animals and to all the organs tested in conventional mice. The number of Kü pffer cells per 100 hepatocytes in liver was significantly higher (P<0.05) in yeast mono-associated mice (52.9±15.7) than in germ-free controls (38.1±9.0). Probably as a consequence, clearance of E. coli B 41 from the bloodstream was more efficient in yeast mono-associated animals when compared to germ-free mice. Higher levels (P<0.05) of secretory IgA in intestinal content and of IgA and IgM in serum were observed in yeast mono-associated mice when compared to germ-free group. Concluding, the protection against pathogenic bacteria observed in a previous study was probably due to a modulation of both local and systemic immunity of mice treated with S. cerevisiae 905. INTRODUCTIONProbiotics are defined as live micro-organisms that when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit to the host (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations & World Health Organization, 2002). These microorganisms are widely used in pharmaceutical preparations and fermented dairy products. Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria are typically found in probiotic products for humans, as well as some yeasts such as Saccharomyces boulardii.S. boulardii, a non-pathogenic yeast, was isolated from lychee fruit in Indochina and grows at the unusually high temperature of 37 uC (McFarland & Bernasconi, 1993). It has been used for the treatment of different types of diarrhoeal diseases, such as antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (Bartlett, 1992;McFarland et al., 1995;Surawicz, 2003), Clostridium difficile-associated intestinal disease (Elmer et al., 1999;Surawicz et al., 2000;Surawicz, 2003), traveller's diarrhoea (Scarpignato & Rampal, 1995) and diarrhoea in HIV-infected patients (Born et al., 1993).Many mechanisms of action have been proposed to explain S. boulardii protection and they have been summarized by et al., 2004). This leads to the question whether other strains of Saccharomyces, as well as S. boulardii, possess biotherapeutic properties. Brazil is well known for its rich biodiversity in terms of animal, vegetal and microbial species, and yeast with probiotic properties certainly could be screened from Brazilian environmental and agroindustrial sources. ...

Salmonella spp. are Gram-negative, facultative, intracellular pathogens that cause several diarrheal diseases ranging from self-limiting gastroenteritis to typhoid fever. Previous results from our laboratory showed that Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain UFMG 905 isolated from 'cachaça' production presented probiotic properties due to its ability to protect against experimental infection with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. In this study, the effects of oral treatment with S. cerevisiae 905 were evaluated at the immunological level in a murine model of typhoid fever. Treatment with S. cerevisiae 905 inhibited weight loss and increased survival rate after Salmonella challenge. Immunological data demonstrated that S. cerevisiae 905 decreased levels of proinflammatory cytokines and modulated the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38 and JNK, but not ERK1/2), NF-κB and AP-1, signaling pathways which are involved in the transcriptional activation of proinflammatory mediators. Experiments in germ-free mice revealed that probiotic effects were due, at least in part, to the binding of Salmonella to the yeast. In conclusion, S. cerevisiae 905 acts as a potential new biotherapy against S. Typhimurium infection due to its ability to bind bacteria and modulate signaling pathways involved in the activation of inflammation in a murine model of typhoid fever.

In the present study, the protective potential of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain UFMG A-905 was evaluated in a murine model of acute ulcerative colitis (UC). Six groups of Balb/c mice were used: not treated with yeast and not challenged with dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) (control); treated with S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 (905); treated with the non-probiotic S. cerevisiae W303 (W303); challenged with DSS (DSS); treated with S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 and challenged with DSS (905 + DSS); and treated with S. cerevisiae W303 and challenged with DSS (W303 + DSS). Seven days after induction of UC, mice were euthanised to remove colon for enzymatic, immunological, and histopathological analysis. In vivo intestinal permeability was also evaluated. An improvement of clinical manifestations of experimental UC was observed only in mice of the 905 + DSS group when compared to animals from DSS and W303 + DSS groups. This observation was confirmed by histological and morphometrical data and determination of myeloperoxidase and eosinophil peroxidase activities, intestinal permeability and some pro-inflammatory cytokines. S. cerevisiae UFMG A-905 showed to be a potential alternative treatment for UC when used in an experimental animal model of the disease.

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