In a renal epithelial cell model, sodium oxalate disrupted barrier integrity, reduced ZO-1 and increased annexin A2-mediated crystal adhesion. Co-culture with Lactobacillus acidophilus prevented these changes and reduced oxalate in artificial urine.
Key findings
- Oxalate impaired epithelial integrity and increased crystal binding. L. acidophilus maintained ZO-1 and annexin A2 near baseline and showed oxalate-degrading activity in an artificial-urine environment.
Why this matters globally
Kidney stone disease is globally burdensome, and the work adds a mechanistic basis for studying urinary microbiota as a preventive target that now requires animal and human validation.
Thai researcher contribution
The Siriraj research team led the cellular, barrier-protein, crystal-adhesion and oxalate-degradation experiments, with a Thailand-based corresponding author.
Limitations to consider
This is a 24-hour mouse-cell experiment using one bacterial concentration. It does not reproduce human immunity, microbial ecology, urinary flow or clinical safety, and it is not a clinical trial.