|
|
||||||||
1Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117597 2Department of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry, University of Turku, Fin-20014 Turku, Finland
Correspondence Yuan-Kun Lee micleeyk{at}nus.edu.sg
Received June 24, 2002
Accepted December 24, 2002
Competition, competitive exclusion and displacement of eight strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. by Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus casei Shirota from adhesion on human intestinal mucus glycoproteins and Caco-2 cell surfaces were studied. Lactobacilli were able to compete with, exclude and displace pathogenic gastrointestinal (GI) bacteria when they were incubated together, but the degree of inhibition of adhesion was bacterial strain-dependent. Competition and exclusion profiles of GI bacteria by lactobacilli were similar. Displacement profiles of GI bacteria were different from those of competition and exclusion and the process was relatively slow: displacement equilibrium took more than 2 h. These findings are important for development, selection and in vitro assessment of target- and function-specific probiotics.
| INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| METHODS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Escherichia coli O157, E. coli ATCC 11775, Salmonella choleraesuis subsp. choleraesuis serotype typhimurium (Salmonella typhimurium) ATCC 14028 and S. choleraesuis subsp. choleraesuis serotype enteritidis (Salmonella enteritidis) ATCC 13076 were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; Rockville, MD, USA). S. typhimurium E10 (NCTC 8391) was obtained from the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC; Colindale, UK). E. coli TG1 (Gibson, 1984) was obtained from the collection of our department, whereas S. typhimurium E12 and Salmonella bellurup E23 are faecal isolates provided by the National University Hospital. These bacteria were grown in LuriaBertani broth (BBL) at 37 °C for 1820 h before use.
To label bacteria, methyl (1',2'-3H)-thymidine was added to the medium at a concentration of 10 µl ml-1 (117 Ci mmol-1). After growth, the lactobacillus strains were washed twice with sterile acetate buffer (pH 5.0) and resuspended in the same buffer. The other eight potential pathogens were washed once with acetate buffer (pH 5.0) that contained 0.1 % (w/v) sodium azide to avoid bacterial invasion. These GI bacteria were then washed once more with acetate buffer and resuspended in the same buffer.
Intestinal cell culture.
Caco-2 cell cultures were used in the adhesion assay (Fogh et al., 1977). This human colon adenocarcinoma cell-line was obtained from the ATCC. Cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's minimal essential medium (Gibco-BRL) that contained 25 mM glucose, 20 % (v/v) heated inactivated fetal calf serum (Gibco-BRL) and 1 % non-essential amino acids (Gibco-BRL). Cells were grown at 37 °C in an atmosphere of 5 % v/v CO2 in air. For the adhesion assay, monolayers of Caco-2 cells were prepared in 24-well tissue-culture dishes (Falcon type 3047; Becton Dickinson) by inoculating 1 x 105 viable cells per well in 1.0 ml culture medium. Medium was replaced every 2 days.
Intestinal mucus.
Human intestinal mucus glycoproteins were isolated from faeces of healthy adult volunteers by extraction and dual ethanol precipitation (Ouwehand et al., 2001). In short, faecal extracts were prepared by homogenizing faeces in PBS (pH 7.4) that contained protease inhibitors and sodium azide and centrifuging the suspension at 15 000 g. Mucus was isolated from the clear faecal extract by dual ethanol precipitation; the crude mucus was further lyophilized and stored at 4 °C.
Adhesion assay
(i) On Caco-2 cells.
Fifteen-days-post-confluent Caco-2 cell monolayers were washed once with 1 ml sterile acetate buffer (pH 5.0) before the adhesion assay. Bacteria at concentrations between 1x108 and 1x109 c.f.u. ml-1 were added to each well in 1.0 ml (total volume) acetate buffer (pH 5.0) and incubated at 37 °C in an atmosphere of 5 % (v/v) CO2 in air with gentle rocking. After 60 min incubation, monolayers were washed three times with sterile acetate buffer (pH 5.0) to remove free bacterial cells. Concentration of adhered bacterial cells was estimated from radioactivity, which was assayed by liquid scintillation (Ouwehand et al., 2001).
(ii) On immobilized mucus. Study of adhesion of micro-organisms to mucus glycoproteins was performed as described previously (Ouwehand et al., 1999). In short, 100 µl human intestinal mucus (0.5 mg ml-1) in HEPESHanks buffer (10 mmol HEPES l-1, pH 7.4) was immobilized in polystyrene microtitre plate wells (MaxiSorp; Nunc) by overnight incubation at 4 °C. Wells were washed once with 200 µl acetate buffer (pH 5.0). Bacterial suspension (100 µl) at concentrations between 1.0 x 108 and 5.0 x 108 c.f.u. ml-1 was added to the wells, followed by incubation at 37 °C for 1.5 h. Radioactivity was assessed by liquid scintillation.
In the study of competition exclusion for adhesion on both Caco-2 cells and mucus, lactobacillus and the respective GI bacterium were added simultaneously or sequentially. In the latter case, free cells of the first type of bacterium were removed by washing with acetate buffer (pH 5.0) before the second type of bacterium was added.
Statistics.
Differences between treatments were examined for significance by Student's t-test after analysis of variance. P > 0.05 was considered to be statistically insignificant.
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
In the exclusion study (Table 1), LGG was allowed to adhere to the mucin surface first and each of the other GI bacteria was added subsequently. The data showed that LGG adhered on the mucin surface was able to exclude all GI bacteria except E. coli O157 (no exclusion was observed), with E coli ATCC 11775 showing the highest degree of inhibition (77.73 %) by LGG.
When GI bacteria were allowed to adhere to the mucin first and LGG was added subsequently, low degrees of displacement of the GI bacteria (014 %) were observed (Table 1). Adhesion of E. coli O157 was enhanced.
Adhesion of LGG and GI bacteria on Caco-2 cells
Competition of LGG and GI bacteria, except E. coli O157, for adhesion on the surface of Caco-2 cells was observed (Table 2). E. coli TG1 showed the highest degree of inhibition (48.97 %) by LGG.
|
As shown in Table 2, adhered LGG was able to exclude most GI bacteria, except S. bellurup E23 and S. typhimurium E10, with E. coli TG1 showing the highest degree of exclusion (37.38 %).
Free LGG was able to displace S. typhimurium E10 (45.02 %), E. coli ATCC 11775 (31.05 %), S. enteritidis (8.87 %) and S. typhimurium ATCC 14028 (27.49 %), but not the other GI bacteria (E. coli TG1, S. typhimurium E12, S. bellurup E23 or E. coli O157) within 1 h incubation together (Table 2). Extension of the incubation time of LGG with adhered S. typhimurium ATCC 14028 for another hour (2 h in total) showed a higher degree of displacement (from 27.49 to 36.13 %, P < 0.05) (Fig. 1).
|
Adhesion of L. casei Shirota (LCS) and GI bacteria on human mucin
LCS was able to compete with most GI bacteria (except for S. bellurup E23) for adhesion on the mucin surface (Table 3). E. coli TG1, S. typhimurium E10, E. coli O157, E. coli ATCC 11775 and S. typhimurium ATCC 14028 showed higher degrees of inhibition.
|
Degrees of exclusion of GI bacteria by LCS ranged between +20 and -36 %, with S. typhimurium E10 and S. typhimurium ATCC 14028 showing higher degrees of exclusion by LCS (Table 3).
Degrees of displacement of adhered GI bacteria by LCS were generally low (< 23 %) (Table 3). No displacement was observed with E. coli TG1, S. typhimurium E10 or E. coli O157.
Adhesion of LCS and GI bacteria on Caco-2 cells
LCS was able to achieve up to 46 % competitive inhibition of the GI bacteria tested (Table 4). Higher degrees of inhibition (> 30 %) were observed for E. coli TG1, S. typhimurium E10, E. coli ATCC 11775 and S. typhimurium ATCC 14028.
|
Higher degrees of exclusion were observed for E. coli TG1, S. typhimurium E10, E. coli O157, E. coli ATCC 11775 and S. typhimurium ATCC 14028 (Table 4).
Only
28 % displacement of GI bacteria by LCS was observed after 1 h incubation (Table 4). E. coli TG1 (15.78 %), E. coli O157 (no displacement), E. coli ATCC 11775 (no displacement) and S. enteritidis ATCC 13076 (5.22 %) could not be effectively displaced by LCS within 1 h incubation. When the incubation time of LCS with adhered E. coli ATCC 11775 and S. typhimurium ATCC 14028 on Caco-2 cells was extended to 2 h, more GI bacteria were displaced (E. coli ATCC 11775, from 1.92 to 20.18 % displacement; S. typhimurium ATCC 14028, from 14.13 to 38.49 % displacement) (Fig. 1).
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Displacement profiles for the GI bacteria by lactobacilli were, however, very different from those of competition and exclusion. Degrees of displacement were generally much lower than the degree of inhibition achieved by competition and exclusion. Many GI bacteria could not be displaced within 1 h incubation. When the incubation time was extended to 2 h, higher degrees of displacement were observed. These results suggest that displacement of GI bacteria by LGG and LCS is a very slow process. Resident time of food material in the small intestine is about 2 h, whereas liquid beverage stays for an even shorter period of time (Kutchai, 1988). This may not allow sufficient time for incoming LGG and LCS to displace adhered GI bacteria (including pathogens) on the intestinal surface. In the large intestine, the resident time of faecal material is much longer (up to the time it is discharged); however, most probiotic bacteria travelling along the large GI tract are probably trapped in viscous faecal material. Bacterial concentration in faecal water is much lower.
Slow displacement of adhered GI bacteria by LGG could be understood as follows. Adhesion of LGG to the mucosal surface occurs mainly via hydrophobic interactions (Lee & Puong, 2002); thus, competition for a specific receptor that binds GI bacteria is due to steric hindrance. LGG would not be able to competitively displace an adhered GI bacterial cell unless this cell detaches from the receptor and the binding of LGG hinders the reattachment of the bacterium to the receptor. A GI bacterium with high affinity for the receptor would not detach and would reattach readily.
LCS was shown to possess multiple surface adhesins and up to four adhesins could bind to the mucosal surface at any time (Lee et al., 2000). Such an arrangement is effective for competition and exclusion interactions, as one LCS is able to out-compete up to four pathogens and an adhered LCS could exclude up to four pathogens. However, there is only a low probability that an LCS would displace four adhered pathogens simultaneously. One-to-one competition between lactobacillus and pathogen would have a better chance for the former to displace the latter.
This study has suggested that the method of delivery of probiotics to the host is an important parameter to consider in the preparation of probiotic products. A desirable carrier for probiotic bacteria should allow sufficient time and frequency for interaction between bacteria and adhesion sites on the intestinal surface. Selection of probiotics that compete directly with pathogens, as well as their ability to elicit local immunological responses and enhance recovery of damaged mucosal surfaces, would be a logical approach to the selection and development of probiotics for therapeutic treatment of GI infectious diseases.
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
D. A. MacKenzie, L. E. Tailford, A. M. Hemmings, and N. Juge Crystal Structure of a Mucus-binding Protein Repeat Reveals an Unexpected Functional Immunoglobulin Binding Activity J. Biol. Chem., November 20, 2009; 284(47): 32444 - 32453. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. C. Johnson-Henry, K. A. Donato, G. Shen-Tu, M. Gordanpour, and P. M. Sherman Lactobacillus rhamnosus Strain GG Prevents Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7-Induced Changes in Epithelial Barrier Function Infect. Immun., April 1, 2008; 76(4): 1340 - 1348. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. Shoaf, G. L. Mulvey, G. D. Armstrong, and R. W. Hutkins Prebiotic Galactooligosaccharides Reduce Adherence of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to Tissue Culture Cells Infect. Immun., December 1, 2006; 74(12): 6920 - 6928. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
V. Lievin-Le Moal and A. L. Servin The Front Line of Enteric Host Defense against Unwelcome Intrusion of Harmful Microorganisms: Mucins, Antimicrobial Peptides, and Microbiota Clin. Microbiol. Rev., April 1, 2006; 19(2): 315 - 337. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y. Tao, K. A. Drabik, T. S. Waypa, M. W. Musch, J. C. Alverdy, O. Schneewind, E. B. Chang, and E. O. Petrof Soluble factors from Lactobacillus GG activate MAPKs and induce cytoprotective heat shock proteins in intestinal epithelial cells Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, April 1, 2006; 290(4): C1018 - C1030. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D. Fayol-Messaoudi, C. N. Berger, M.-H. Coconnier-Polter, V. Lievin-Le Moal, and A. L. Servin pH-, Lactic Acid-, and Non-Lactic Acid-Dependent Activities of Probiotic Lactobacilli against Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Appl. Envir. Microbiol., October 1, 2005; 71(10): 6008 - 6013. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
B. Stecher, A. J. Macpherson, S. Hapfelmeier, M. Kremer, T. Stallmach, and W.-D. Hardt Comparison of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Colitis in Germfree Mice and Mice Pretreated with Streptomycin Infect. Immun., June 1, 2005; 73(6): 3228 - 3241. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| INT J SYST EVOL MICROBIOL | J MED MICROBIOL | MICROBIOLOGY | J GEN VIROL | ALL SGM JOURNALS |