Lactoferrin and lactoferricin B reduce adhesion and biofilm formation in the intestinal symbionts Bacteroides fragilis and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron.

Lactoferrin and lactoferricin B reduce adhesion and biofilm formation in the intestinal symbionts Bacteroides fragilis and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. Anaerobe. 2020 Jul 04;:102232 Authors: de Sá Almeida JS, de Oliveira Marre AT, Teixeira FL, Boente RF, Domingues RMCP, de Paula GR, Lobo LA Abstract Several factors affect the composition of species that inhabit our intestinal tract, including mode of delivery, genetics and nutrition. Antimicrobial peptides and proteins secreted in the gastrointestinal tract are powerful tools against bacteria. Lactoferrin (LF) inhibits the growth of several bacterial species, such as Enterobacteriaceae, but may stimulate probiotic bacteria. Activity of LF against gut symbiotic species of the Bacteroides genus could give us insights on how these species colonize the gut. We investigated the effects of the antimicrobial protein lactoferrin and its derived peptide, lactoferricin B on two species of strict anaerobes, opportunistic pathogens that cause diseases in both adults and children, commonly found in the microbiota of the human gastrointestinal tract, Bacteroides fragilis and B. thetaiotaomicron., In vitro biofilm formation and binding to laminin were strongly inhibited by a low concentration of lactoferrin (12.5 μg/ml). Conversely, the growth of the strains in a micro-dilution assay in minimal media with different iron sources was not affected by physiological concentrations (2 mg/ml) of ap...
Source: Anaerobe - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Anaerobe Source Type: research