Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 10415 Modulates Epithelial Integrity, Heat Shock Protein, and Proinflammatory Cytokine Response in Intestinal Cells

Abstract

Probiotics have shown positive effects on gastrointestinal diseases; they have barrier-modulating effects and change the inflammatory response towards pathogens in studies in vitro. The aim of this investigation has been to examine the response of intestinal epithelial cells to Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 10415 (E. faecium), a probiotic positively affecting diarrhea incidence in piglets, and two pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains, with specific focus on the probiotic modulation of the response to the pathogenic challenge. Porcine (IPEC-J2) and human (Caco-2) intestinal cells were incubated without bacteria (control), with E. faecium, with enteropathogenic (EPEC) or enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) each alone or in combination with E. faecium. The ETEC strain decreased transepithelial resistance (TER) and increased IL-8 mRNA and protein expression in both cell lines compared with control cells, an effect that could be prevented by pre- and coincubation with E. faecium. Similar effects were observed for the increased expression of heat shock protein 70 in Caco-2 cells. When the cells were challenged by the EPEC strain, no such pattern of changes could be observed. The reduced decrease in TER and the reduction of the proinflammatory and stress response of enterocytes following pathogenic challenge indicate the protective effect of the probiotic.

Enterococcus faeciumHDRsEf1 elevates the intestinal barrier defense against enterotoxigenicEscherichia coliand regulates occludin expression via activation of TLR-2 and PI3K signalling pathways

“…The increasing application of probiotics in animal disease prevention and treatment requires an investigation of the underlying mechanisms of their health‐promoting effects (Klingspor et al . ). The findings of our study provide insights into the mechanism by which the HDRsEf1 strain protects cells against infection.…”

“…Probiotics have been speculated to function via several proposed mechanisms including suppression of the growth and inhibition of pathogenic bacteria, improving the barrier function of the intestinal epithelium, and altering the immune activity of the host (Klingspor et al . ). Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a major cause of traveller's diarrhoea and infectious diarrhoea in children in developing countries, and porcine ETEC has been reported to be the leading cause of postweaning diarrhoea (PWD) in pigs (Croxen and Finlay ).…”

Structure and Function of the Fecal Microbiota in Diarrheic Neonatal Piglets

“…Diarrhea: 2.95E-04 vs. 3.19E-05 and 1.54E-04 vs. 4.74E-05 for the relative abundance of E. faecalis and E. faecium , respectively). It has been suggested that E. faecium is capable of modulating barrier function of the porcine intestinal mucus (Bednorz et al, 2013; Klingspor et al, 2015). In weaned piglets, the dietary addition of E. faecalis LAB31 may increase the abundance of Lactobacillus and consequently reduce diarrhea (Hu et al, 2015).…”

Fever as an important resource for infectious diseases research

“…They have been described in a range of species (40,44,46), including vertebrates (41) and among those, humans (47). Lack of the 70-kilodalton family of HSPs (HSP70), a highly conserved protein promoter of heat tolerance (46), induces heat shock sensitivity in E. coli strains that would be otherwise resistant to that type of stress.…”