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Staphylococcus aureus adheres to human intestinal mucus but can be displaced by certain lactic acid bacteria

Satu Vesterlund1, Matti Karp2, Seppo Salminen1

  • 1Functional Foods Forum, Department of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.

Microbiology (Reading, England)
|June 1, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Certain lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can prevent Staphylococcus aureus intestinal colonization by reducing bacterial adhesion and killing. This discovery offers potential new strategies for managing Staph. aureus in the gut, particularly in hospitalized patients.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Probiotics

Background:

  • Increasing evidence suggests Staphylococcus aureus intestinal colonization, particularly in hospitalized patients.
  • Staph. aureus is linked to various gastrointestinal diseases, necessitating research into prevention strategies.
  • Bacterial adhesion to intestinal mucus is the critical initial step in colonization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the adherence of Staph. aureus to human intestinal mucus.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of specific lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in preventing Staph. aureus colonization.
  • To determine if LAB can reduce the viability of adherent Staph. aureus.

Main Methods:

  • Assessing Staph. aureus adhesion to mucus from resected human intestinal tissue.
  • Employing displacement assays using specific LAB strains (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii, Lactobacillus reuteri).
  • Quantifying the reduction in adherent Staph. aureus and its viability after LAB co-incubation.

Main Results:

  • Staph. aureus demonstrated adherence to human intestinal mucus.
  • LAB strains, including L. rhamnosus GG, Lc. lactis, and P. freudenreichii, reduced adherent Staph. aureus by 39-44% in displacement assays.
  • Adherent LAB reduced Staph. aureus viability by 27-36% within 2 hours, likely through organic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and reuterin production.

Conclusions:

  • Staph. aureus can adhere to human intestinal mucus.
  • Certain LAB strains effectively displace and reduce the viability of adherent Staph. aureus.
  • LAB-mediated inhibition is likely due to the in situ production of antimicrobial substances, offering a novel approach to prevent intestinal Staph. aureus colonization.

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