Bifidobacteria grown on human milk oligosaccharides downregulate the expression of inflammation-related genes in Caco-2 cells

BACKGROUND: Breastfed human infants are predominantly colonized by bifidobacteria that thrive on human milk oligosaccharides (HMO). Two predominant species of bifidobacteria in infant feces are Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve) and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis (B. infantis), both of which include avid HMO-consumer strains. Our laboratory has previously shown that B. infantis, when grown on HMO, increases adhesion to intestinal cells and increases the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of carbon source—glucose, lactose, or HMO—on the ability of B. breve and B. infantis to adhere to and affect the transcription of intestinal epithelial cells on a genome-wide basis. RESULTS: HMO-grown B. infantis had higher percent binding to Caco-2 cell monolayers compared to B. infantis grown on glucose or lactose. B. breve had low adhesive ability regardless of carbon source. Despite differential binding ability, both HMO-grown strains significantly differentially affected the Caco-2 transcriptome compared to their glucose or lactose grown controls. HMO-grown B. breve and B. infantis both downregulated genes in Caco-2 cells associated with chemokine activity. CONCLUSION: The choice of carbon source affects the interaction of bifidobacteria with intestinal epithelial cells. HMO-grown bifidobacteria reduce markers of inflammation, compared to glucose or lactose-grown bifidobacteria. In the future, the design of preventative or therapeutic probiotic supplements may need to include appropriately chosen prebiotics. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-015-0508-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

The use of tamsulosin to prevent postoperative urinary retention in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study

PURPOSE: The rate of postoperative urinary retention (POUR) in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs is 1-22%. POUR may cause patient anxiety, discomfort, and increased hospital costs. Currently there is no standard prophylaxis for POUR. Preoperative administration of tamsulosin has been shown to decrease POUR rates in urologic studies. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of tamsulosin on the incidence of POUR in patients undergoing totally extraperitoneal (TEP) LIHR. METHODS: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was initiated and accrued patients from 2017 to 2019. A total of 169 males undergoing elective TEP LIHR were included. Patients were administered tamsulosin 2 h before surgery and followed for up to 24 h postoperatively for episodes of POUR. Analysis was performed to quantify the association between patient, surgical, and perioperative factors with POUR. RESULTS: The overall rate of POUR was 9%. There was no difference in the rate of POUR between the placebo (9.9%) and tamsulosin groups (7.9%) (p = 0.433). Univariate analysis showed a trend toward POUR in patients with history of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) (p = 0.058). Previously reported risk factors of older age, total IVF, length of procedure and opioid use were not associated with increased rates of POUR. Tamsulosin reduced the time to discharge by 4 to 68 min when compared to placebo. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that preoperative administration of tamsulosin may not reduce the risk of POUR in males undergoing elective TEP LIHR. Further study with a larger sample size may be needed to show a statistically significant difference