Lactoferrin increases both resistance to Salmonella typhimurium infection and the production of antibodies in mice

Intermittent fasting favored the resolution of Salmonella typhimurium infection in middle-aged BALB/c mice

“…The uninfected animals were sacrificed at 61 weeks of life, thus representing basal groups under healthy conditions. The infected groups were administered a sublethal dose (10 4 colony-forming units (CFU)) of S. typhimurium (ATCC-14028, Manassas, VA, USA) by the intragastric route (Drago-Serrano et al 2010) at 60 weeks of life. After infection, all mice regardless of the previous dietary regimen were fed ad libitum to prevent mortality.…”

“…After washing, intestinal segments were processed for the purification of lamina propria lymphocytes as described previously (Resendiz-Albor et al 2010). In brief, intestinal samples (free of feces and Peyer's patches) were turned outward by inserting an iron crochet needle.…”

“…Single=cell suspensions of lamina propria lymphocytes were centrifuged in a discontinuous 40/ 70 % Percoll gradient (17-0891-01 GE Healthcare, Piscataway, NJ, USA). Lymphocytes from the interface were collected and washed with RPMI 1640 to determine the number of IgA+ plasma cells by flow cytometry (Resendiz-Albor et al 2010). Additionally, intestinal samples were scraped with a coverslip to collect whole mucosa samples (containing submucosa and mucosa layers) that were stored at −70°C.…”

“…Bacterial load from feces, liver, spleen, and Peyer's patches was determined by plate count and expressed as CFU per gram, according to a previously reported procedure (Drago-Serrano et al 2010). …”

“…For purposes of normalization, each sample was adjusted to the same protein concentration before proceeding with the estimation of total and specific IgA with the immunoenzymatic assay (EIA), according to a previously reported method (Drago-Serrano et al 2010). …”