Canine Vaginal Lactic Acid Producing Bacteria Exhibit Characteristics Which May Antagonize Common Urogenital Pathogens

Lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB) positively affect vaginal health of women and other species. Relevant mechanisms include superior cellular adhesion to competitively displace other organisms and antimicrobial activity. In our laboratory, we aimed to characterize the ability of LAB obtained from vaginal swabs of healthy estrus bitches to exhibit those same characteristics. We hypothesized that LAB from canine vaginal samples would bind to vaginal epithelial cells and that they would inhibit growth of common uropathogens. [...]