We studied the influence of diet during diarrhea on gut mucosal barrier in a suckling rat model. Rat pups were inoculated with IDIR virus (a group B rotavirus) at 10 d of age. Beginning 2 d postinfection, in addition to maternal milk, group CM received a daily gavage of cow milk and group GG received Lactobacillus casei strain GG, a human strain previously shown to survive the passage through the gastrointestinal tract and temporarily colonize the gut. Group CMGG received a combination of these, and control animals were gavaged with tap water. At 21 d of age, jejunal absorption of intact and degraded horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in Ussing chamber was markedly higher in IDIR virus-infected than in noninfected controls. In the two groups gavaged with cow milk, group CM and group CMGG, the numbers of specific antibody-secreting cells (enumerated by the solid-phase enzyme-linked immunospot assay) against β-lactoglobulin were significantly higher than in the groups that had not received cow milk. In parallel with immune system activation, a statistically significant increase in the absorption of intact HRP (mean and 95% confidence interval, ng × h?1 × cm?2) was detected: group CM, 302 (155, 586); group CMGG, 174 (56, 545); infected controls, 121 (57, 257); and group GG, 44 (8, 254). A decrease in the uptake of intact HRP (F = 3.64, p = 0.06) and degraded HRP (F = 9.50, p = 0.004) was associated with the introduction of L. casei GG to the diet, irrespective of coexposure to cow milk. These results indicate that feeding cow milk amplifies and intestinal implantation of lactobacilli may counteract rotavirus infection-associated intestinal dysfunction. They further suggest that milk fermented with lactic acid bacteria that are able to colonize the gut may prove near-optimal in dietary management of acute gastroenteritis.
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