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Updated: Sep 23, 2026

In Vitro Assay of Bacterial Adhesion onto Mammalian Epithelial Cells
Published on: May 16, 2011
Disease-dependent adhesion of lactic acid bacteria to the human intestinal mucosa
Arthur C Ouwehand1, Seppo Salminen, Peter J Roberts
1Department of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry, University of Turku, Finland. arthur.ouwehand@utu.fi
Abstract:
Their adhesion to the intestinal mucosa is considered one of the main reasons for the beneficial health effects of specific lactic acid bacteria (LAB). However, the influence of disease on the mucosal adhesion is largely unknown. Adhesion of selected LAB to resected colonic tissue and mucus was determined in patients with three major intestinal diseases (i.e., diverticulitis, rectal carcinoma, and inflammatory bowel disease) and compared to healthy control tissue. All strains were observed to adhere better to immobilized mucus than to whole intestinal tissue. Two strains (Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG and L. reuteri) were found to exhibit disease-specific adhesion to intestinal tissue. All tested strains, with the exception of L. rhamnosus strain GG, displayed disease-specific adhesion to intestinal mucus. These results suggest that strains with optimal binding characteristics for a particular intestinal disease can be selected.
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