Vitamin A supplementation boosts control of antibiotic-resistant < i > Salmonella < /i > infection in malnourished mice

by Annica R. Stull-Lane, Kristen L. Lokken-Toyli, Vladimir E. Diaz-Ochoa, Gregory T. Walker, Stephanie A. Cevallos, Andromeda L. N. Winter, Ariel Del Hoyo Mu ñoz, Guiyan G. Yang, Eric M. Velazquez, Chun-Yi Wu, Renée M. Tsolis Disseminated disease from non-typhoidalSalmonella enterica strains results in>20% mortality globally. Barriers to effective treatment include emerging multidrug resistance, antibiotic treatment failure, and risk factors such as malnutrition and related micronutrient deficiencies. Individuals in sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected by non-typhoidalS.enterica bloodstream infections. To inform a clinical trial in people, we investigated vitamin A as a treatment in the context of antibiotic treatment failure in a mouse model of vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A-deficient (VAD) mice exhibited higher systemic bacterial levels with a multidrug-resistant clinical isolate in comparison to mice on a control diet. Sex-specific differences in vitamin A deficiency and disseminated infection withS.enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) were observed. VAD male mice had decreased weight gain compared to control male mice. Further, infected VAD male mice had significant weight loss and decreased survival during the course of infection. These differences were not apparent in female mice. In a model of disseminatedS. Typhimurium infection and antibiotic treatment failure, we assessed the potential of two consecutive doses of vitamin A in alleviating ...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research