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. 2018 Oct 8;9:2181. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02181

FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 5

Lactobacillus crispatus bacteria-free supernatants mitigate the LPS- or G. vaginalis-induced increases in cell permeability in ectocervical cells. (A) Cell permeability was measured in ectocervical cells after exposure to bacterial free supernatants (10% v/v) from L. crispatus, L. iners, and G. vaginalis for 24 h followed by LPS (25 μg/ml) exposure for additional 24 h. Bacterial growth media containing LPS acted as a negative control for the three bacteria-free supernatants tested. (B) Cell permeability was measured in ectocervical cells after exposure to bacterial free supernatants from L. crispatus and G. vaginalis alone or in combination. Ectocervical cells were exposed to L. crispatus supernatants (5% v/v) on day 1 followed by G. vaginalis supernatants (5% v/v) on day 2 or vice versa for 24–48 h. Bacterial growth media alone acted as a negative control for the three bacteria-free supernatants tested. Cell permeability is expressed as fluorescence OD measurements from a fluorescent plate reader and is indicative of the movement of FITC-dextran from the top to the bottom insert of a transwell chamber system. Values are mean ± SEM. Asterisks over the individual bars represent comparisons to control; asterisks over solid lines represent comparisons between treatment groups. ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001.