Backgrounds and aim: Clarithromycin (CAM)-resistant Helicobacter pylori sometimes offers serious problems with eradication by antibiotics. The aim of this study was to determine whether a probiotic can be an alternative therapy in CAM-resistant Hp infection.
Methods: The effects of Lactobacillus gasseri (strain OLL2716) on the growth of CAM-susceptible and CAM-resistant H. pylori and interleukin (IL)-8 production provoked by these strains were examined by in vitro experiments. Moreover, mice were infected with these CAM-susceptible or CAM-resistant H. pylori, and were treated with CAM or L. gasseri.
Results: In vitro experiments demonstrated that L. gasseri inhibited the growth of H. pylori and suppressed H. pylori-associated IL-8 production. Such effects were noted in CAM-resistant and CAM-susceptible H. pylori. Similarly, in an in vivo model of H. pylori infection, H. pylori colonization was significantly decreased by L. gasseri.
Conclusion: Therefore, L. gasseri was found to act as a probiotic in CAM-resistant H. pylori infection.