Abstract
Bifidobacteria are known to inhibit, compete with and displace the adhesion of pathogens to human intestinal cells. Previously, we demonstrated that goat milk oligosaccharides (GMO) increased the attachment of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis ATCC 15697 to intestinal cells in vitro. In this study, we aimed to exploit this effect as a mechanism for inhibiting pathogen association with intestinal cells. We examined the synergistic effect of GMO-treated B. infantis on preventing the attachment of a highly invasive strain of Campylobacter jejuni to intestinal HT-29 cells. The combination decreased the adherence of C. jejuni to the HT-29 cells by an average of 42% compared to the control (non-GMO treated B. infantis). Increasing the incubation time of the GMO with the Bifidobacterium strain resulted in the strain metabolizing the GMO, correlating with a subsequent 104% increase in growth over a 24 h period when compared to the control. Metabolite analysis in the 24 h period also revealed increased production of acetate, lactate, formate and ethanol by GMO-treated B. infantis. Statistically significant changes in the GMO profile were also demonstrated over the 24 h period, indicating that the strain was digesting certain structures within the pool such as lactose, lacto-N-neotetraose, lacto-N-neohexaose 3′-sialyllactose, 6′-sialyllactose, sialyllacto-N-neotetraose c and disialyllactose. It may be that early exposure to GMO modulates the adhesion of B. infantis while carbohydrate utilisation becomes more important after the bacteria have transiently colonised the host cells in adequate numbers. This study builds a strong case for the use of synbiotics that incorporate oligosaccharides sourced from goat′s milk and probiotic bifidobacteria in functional foods, particularly considering the growing popularity of formulas based on goat milk.
Highlights
Bifidobacteria are considered one of the first colonisers of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract and are suggested to confer positive health outcomes to the host, explaining their prevalence as probiotics [1]. These bacteria are effective at protecting against infectious diseases, regulating immune responses and exerting effects against conditions ranging from irritable bowel syndrome, allergic diseases, ulcerative colitis, and immunoglobulin E associated diseases, to atopic dermatitis [2]
In terms of protecting against infection, bifidobacteria can operate through strain-specific antagonistic means for the competitive exclusion of pathogens [3]
The health benefits associated with bifidobacteria are reliant on such strains colonising the host in sufficient numbers [8]
Summary
Bifidobacteria are considered one of the first colonisers of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract and are suggested to confer positive health outcomes to the host, explaining their prevalence as probiotics [1]. These bacteria are effective at protecting against infectious diseases, regulating immune responses and exerting effects against conditions ranging from irritable bowel syndrome, allergic diseases, ulcerative colitis, and immunoglobulin E associated diseases, to atopic dermatitis [2]. Probiotics express molecular patterns which can recognize the same trans-membrane receptors as the pathogens, blocking the sites for pathogenic contact by competitive exclusion and, in some cases, displacing already-attached pathogens [7]. The important step in microbial colonisation of the intestinal epithelium is the attachment of bacterial surface lectins to intestinal sugar structures
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