Effect of iron on the probiotic properties of the vaginal isolate Lactobacillus jensenii CECT 4306

Abstract

The vaginal microbiota of healthy, fertile women is dominated by lactobacilli. As a defence mechanism, these bacteria produce H 2 O 2 to discourage colonization of the vagina by undesirable micro-organisms. In particular, Lactobacillus jensenii CECT 4306 is a strong producer of H 2 O 2 and has been found to protect itself from the bactericidal effects of this compound through the activity of extracellular peroxidases. However, this peroxidase activity is dependent on the presence of Fe 3+ , which is found in elevated concentrations in the vaginal mucosa as a consequence of the menstrual discharge. The aim of the present work was to evaluate whether Fe 3+ is able to modulate other potential probiotic properties of strain 4306. We found that Fe 3+ enhances the adhesion of L. jensenii CECT 4306 to mucin and to HT-29 and HT-29 MTX cells, and, in addition, improves the anti-inflammatory profile, as judged by an increase in the ratio of IL-10/IL-12p70 that were secreted by macrophages. A comparison of total, secreted and surface proteins produced in the presence and absence of Fe 3+ revealed significant differences in the concentration of the moonlighting protein glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). In conclusion, Fe 3+ seems to improve the probiotic characteristics of L. jensenii CECT 4306, and future research of the interactions of this strain with its vaginal environment may reveal further information about different aspects of its probiotic potential.

Functional Characterization of Novel Faecalibacterium prausnitzii Strains Isolated from Healthy Volunteers: A Step Forward in the Use of F. prausnitzii as a Next-Generation Probiotic

“…All the experiments were performed in triplicate. The adhesion values have been normalized using Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) a positive control know by their good adhesion properties to mucin (Martin et al, 2015). Results are presented by the mean and the standard deviation.…”

In vivo Imaging of a Novel Strain of Bacteroides fragilis via Metabolic Labeling

“…However, the models mentioned above did not mimic the mucus layer, which is the first barrier inoculated strains meet with. Mucin-secreting HT-29-MTX cells might overcome the shortcomings to some extent ( Martín et al, 2015 ). Nevertheless, the composition of mucin produced by HT-29-MTX cells is different from that of mucin derived from the human intestinal mucosa.…”

Isolation of lactic acid bacteria bound to the porcine intestinal mucosa and an analysis of their moonlighting adhesins

“…40 kDa was also detected in MYU 208. This most likely corresponded to GAPDH, as many reports have shown that 40-kDa GAPDH binds to various substances in the intestinal tract, such as mucin, extracellular matrix, and intestinal epithelial cells [25, 28, 50, 51]. However, the protein could not be clearly identified because the band was very weak and showed nonspecific binding.…”

“…It is difficult to explain these observations of multibinding by ionic bonds alone. Furthermore, the multiple functionalities of moonlighting proteins, other than their functions as adhesins, are enhanced with tPA- and uPA-mediated plasminogen activation [62], protecting LAB from environmental stress [55, 63,64,65] and stimulating the immune response of the host [48, 51, 66]. We can use these moonlighting proteins as functional markers to select useful probiotic LAB strains in the future.…”