Tissue dyslipidemia in Salmonella-infected rats treated with amoxillin and pefloxacin.

backgroundThis study investigated the effects of salmonella infection and its chemotherapy on lipid metabolism in tissues of rats infected orally with Salmonella typhimurium and treated intraperitoneally with pefloxacin and amoxillin.

methodsAnimals were infected with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain TA 98. After salmonellosis was confirmed, they were divided into 7 groups of 5 animals each. While one group served as infected control group, three groups were treated with amoxillin (7.14 mg/kg body weight, 8 hourly) and the remaining three groups with pefloxacin (5.71 mg/kg body weight, 12 hourly) for 5 and 10 days respectively. Uninfected control animals received 0.1 ml of vehicle. Rats were sacrificed 24h after 5 and 10 days of antibiotic treatment and 5 days after discontinuation of antibiotic treatment. Their corresponding controls were also sacrificed at the same time point. Blood and tissue lipids were then evaluated.

resultsSalmonella infection resulted in dyslipidemia characterised by increased concentrations of free fatty acids (FFA) in plasma and erythrocyte, as well as enhanced cholesterogenesis, hypertriglyceridemia and phospholipidosis in plasma, low density lipoprotein-very low density lipoprotein (LDL-VLDL), erythrocytes, erythrocyte ghost and the organs. The antibiotics reversed the dyslipidemia but not totally. A significant correlation was observed between fecal bacterial load and plasma cholesterol (r=0.456, p<0.01), plasma triacyglycerols (r=0.485, p<0.01), plasma phospholipid (r=0.414, p<0.05), plasma free fatty acids (r=0.485, p<0.01), liver phospholipid (r=0.459, p<0.01) and brain phospholipid (r=0.343, p<0.05).

conclusionThe findings of this study suggest that salmonella infection in rats and its therapy with pefloxacin and amoxillin perturb lipid metabolism and this perturbation is characterised by cholesterogenesis.