Polyarthritis in rats following the systemic injection of lactobacillus casei cell walls in aqueous suspension

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Abstract
Postdysenteric Reiter's syndrome and the arthritis associated with jejunal bypass surgery for obesity suggest that the gastrointestinal tract is a possible source of bacterial products capable of initiating chronic inflammatory arthritis. Lactobacillus casei, a common component of the enteric flora, has a cell wall structure similar to that of arthritogenic streptococci. In this study we have demonstrated that a single intraperitoneal injection of an aqueous suspension of the cell walls of Lactobacillus casei induces a dose-dependent, chronic, symmetric, erosive, peripheral polyarthritis in inbred LEW/N female rats. This model suggests that bacteria in the “normal enteric flora” may be a source of inflammatory products capable of inducing chronic erosive polyarthritis.