The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 11, Issue 4 463-470, Copyright © 1978 by Society for General Microbiology
Effects of intestinal micro-organisms on fluid and electrolyte transport in the jejunum of the rat
P. Thelen, V. Burke and M. Gracey
Culture filtrates of micro-organisms isolated from the upper intestinal
secretions of malnourished children and grown in pure culture were shown to
impair the intestinal absorption of water and electrolytes in live rats.
Decreased net movement out of the intestinal lumen, or actual secretion of
water, sodium or potassium into the intestinal lumen, was found with
culture filtrates of single isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis,
Escherichia coli 055, Escherichia coli B7A, Shigella sonnei, Klebsiella
pneumoniae, Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. These organisms have
been found to contaminate upper intestinal secretions in malnourished
children and it is suggested that the effects observed in these experiments
might be relevant to the production of the diarrhoea that is a dominant
clinical feature of childhood malnutrition.
