Dynamic analysis of human small intestinal microbiota after an ingestion of fermented milk by small-intestinal fluid perfusion using an endoscopic retrograde bowel insertion technique.

Probiotic products have been shown to have beneficial effects on human hosts, but what happens in the gastrointestinal tract after its ingestion remains unclear. Our aim was to investigate the changes within the small intestines after a single intake of a fermented milk product containing a probiotic. We have periodically collected the small-intestinal fluids from the terminal ileum of seven healthy subjects for up to 7 h after ingestion by small-intestinal fluid perfusion using an endoscopic retrograde bowel insertion technique.

Safety assessment of the candidate oral probiotic Lactobacillus crispatus YIT 12319: Analysis of antibiotic resistance and virulence-associated genes.

Lactobacillus crispatus YIT 12319 (LcY) was isolated from the oral cavity of a healthy subject as a new candidate probiotic with potential benefits for oral health. As a safety assessment of LcY, we performed an antibiotic susceptibility test and virulence-associated gene analysis using a draft genome sequence. Susceptibility to 15 antibiotics was analyzed according to the standard method of the International Dairy Federation/International Organization for Standardization, as recommended by the European Food Safety Authority.

Decreased number of days of fever detection and duration of fever with continuous intake of a fermented milk drink: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of elderly nursing home residents.

We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel study to investigate the effects of a fermented milk on elderly nursing home residents. Eighty-eight participants each drank one bottle of fermented milk containing strain Shirota, or a placebo, on a daily basis for 6 months in winter. Peripheral blood, saliva, fecal samples, and clinical data were analyzed to assess the milk's efficacy.

Independent and Interactive Effects of Habitually Ingesting Fermented Milk Products Containing Strain Shirota and of Engaging in Moderate Habitual Daily Physical Activity on the Intestinal Health of Older People.

Infrequent bowel movements decrease the number of beneficial bacteria in the human intestines, thereby potentially increasing the individual's risk of colorectal cancer. The correction of such bowel problems could therefore make an important contribution to improving population health and quality-adjusted lifespan. We examined independent and interactive effects upon the fecal microbiota of two potentially favorable determinants of intestinal motility: the intake frequency of a fermented milk product containing strain Shirota (LcS) and the quantity/quality of habitual physical activity in 338 community-living Japanese aged 65-92 years.

Long-term colonization exceeding six years from early infancy of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum in human gut.

Background: The importance of the gut microbiota at the early stage of life and their longitudinal effect on host health have recently been well investigated. In particular, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum, a common component of infant gut microbiota, appears in the gut shortly after birth and can be detected there throughout an individual's lifespan.

Microscale spatial analysis provides evidence for adhesive monopolization of dietary nutrients by specific intestinal bacteria.

Each species of intestinal bacteria requires a nutritional source to maintain its population in the intestine. Dietary factors are considered to be major nutrients; however, evidence directly explaining the in situ utilization of dietary factors is limited. Microscale bacterial distribution would provide clues to understand bacterial lifestyle and nutrient utilization.

A Single Species of Clostridium Subcluster XIVa Decreased in Ulcerative Colitis Patients.

Background: Imbalance of the intestinal microbiota is associated with gastrointestinal disease and autoimmune disease and metabolic syndrome. Analysis of the intestinal microbiota has recently progressed, and the association with inflammatory bowel disease has been reported at the species level. Such findings suggest that the recovery of homeostasis in the intestinal microbiota could cure inflammatory bowel disease.

Reclassification of Eubacterium desmolans as Butyricicoccus desmolans comb. nov., and description of Butyricicoccus faecihominis sp. nov., a butyrate-producing bacterium from human faeces.

A Gram-positive-staining, coccoid-shaped, non-motile, asporogenous, obligately anaerobic and butyrate-producing bacterium was recovered from a healthy human's faeces. The organism was isolated by the enrichment culture technique using yeast extract-casein hydrolysate-fatty acids broth supplemented with 0.5 % mucin.

Longitudinal Investigation of Carriage Rates, Counts, and Genotypes of Toxigenic Clostridium difficile in Early Infancy.

Unlabelled: Asymptomatic infant carriers of toxigenic Clostridium difficile are suggested to play a role in the transmission of C. difficile infection (CDI) in adults. However, the mode of C.

Early-Life Events, Including Mode of Delivery and Type of Feeding, Siblings and Gender, Shape the Developing Gut Microbiota.

Colonization of the infant gut is believed to be critically important for a healthy growth as it influences gut maturation, metabolic, immune and brain development in early life. Understanding factors that influence this process is important, since an altered colonization has been associated with a higher risk of diseases later in life. Fecal samples were collected from 108 healthy neonates in the first half year of life.

Expression of Porphyromonas gingivalis gingipain antigen Hgp44 domain on surface of Lactococcus lactis.

Porphyromonas gingivalis, a pathogen involved in the development of chronic periodontitis, has a number of major virulence factors, among which are its surface cysteine protease gingipains. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of inducing protective antibodies against P. gingivalis by means of immunization with recombinant Lactococcus lactis expressing the 44-kDa gingipain adhesion/hemagglutinin domain (Hgp44).

Mother-to-infant transmission of intestinal bifidobacterial strains has an impact on the early development of vaginally delivered infant's microbiota.

Objectives: Bifidobacterium species are one of the major components of the infant's intestine microbiota. Colonization with bifidobacteria in early infancy is suggested to be important for health in later life. However, information remains limited regarding the source of these microbes.

Ethnic diversity of gut microbiota: species characterization of Bacteroides fragilis group and genus Bifidobacterium in healthy Belgian adults, and comparison with data from Japanese subjects.

The composition of the human gut microbiota is related to host health, and it is thought that dietary habits may play a role in shaping this composition. Here, we examined the population size and prevalence of six predominant bacterial genera and the species compositions of genus Bifidobacterium (g-Bifid) and Bacteroides fragilis group (g-Bfra) in 42 healthy Belgian adults by quantitative PCR (qPCR) over a period of one month. The population sizes and prevalence of these bacteria were basically stable throughout the study period.

Transmission of intestinal Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum strains from mother to infant, determined by multilocus sequencing typing and amplified fragment length polymorphism.

The gastrointestinal tracts of neonates are colonized by bacteria immediately after birth. It has been discussed that the intestinal microbiota of neonates includes strains transferred from the mothers. Although some studies have indicated possible bacterial transfer from the mother to the newborn, this is the first report confirming the transfer of bifidobacteria at the strain level.

Fermented milk containing Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota reduces incidence of hard or lumpy stools in healthy population.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of fermented milk containing Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) in a healthy population. Healthy subjects with Bristol Stool Form Scale (BS) score < 3.0 were randomized to fermented milk treatment for 3 weeks or non-intervention control.

M-RTLV agar, a novel selective medium to distinguish Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus paracasei from Lactobacillus rhamnosus.

We developed a novel selective medium, modified-rhamnose-2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride-LBS-vancomycin agar (M-RTLV agar), that utilizes the fermentability of L-rhamnose to distinguish Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus paracasei from Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Whereas L. casei and L.

Lactobacillus-mediated RNA interference in nematode.

We engineered Lactobacillus paracasei to produce a dsRNA that would trigger RNAi-induced silencing of an essential gene in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The dsRNA-expressing L. paracasei can be used in experiments conducted on culture plates and may also be used as an orally administrable dsRNA carrier for humans and other mammals.

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria by broth microdilution method and Etest.

We applied two methods of broth microdilution and Etest for measuring minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria for 15 antimicrobial agents to compare the feasibility, reproducibility, and equivalence of the two methods. Both methods were originally described by the European projects PROSAFE and ACE-ART. In 84% combinations of strains and antimicrobial agents MIC differences between the two methods were within one Log(2) dilution.

Probiotic Lactobacillus casei activates innate immunity via NF-kappaB and p38 MAP kinase signaling pathways.

Probiotic bacteria are microorganisms that benefit the host through improvement of the balance of intestinal microflora and possibly by augmentation of host defense systems. We examined the mechanisms for the up-regulation of innate immune responses by a probiotic Lactobacillus casei ATCC27139, in vivo. Using mouse models of systemic Listeria monocytogenes infection and MethA fibrosarcoma tumorigenesis in combination with BALB/c and SCID mice, we found that parenteral administration of L.

Activation of hilA expression at low pH requires the signal sensor CpxA, but not the cognate response regulator CpxR, in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

A two-component regulatory system, cpxR-cpxA, plays an important role in the pH-dependent regulation of virF, a global activator for virulence determinants including invasion genes, in Shigella sonnei. The authors examined whether the cpxR-cpxA homologues have some function in the expression of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium invasion genes via the regulation of hilA, an activator for these genes. In a Salmonella cpxA mutant, the hilA expression level was reduced to less than 10 % of that in the parent strain at pH 6.

Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of orally administered recombinant Lactococcus lactis expressing surface-bound HIV Env.

This study investigates whether genetically modified orally administered Lactococcus lactis (L lactis) could be used as an HIV vaccine. L lactis is immunogenic and extremely safe when delivered orally. We created a recombinant L lactis vector expressing the envelope protein of HIV on its cell surface.

Lactobacillus equi sp. nov., a predominant intestinal Lactobacillus species of the horse isolated from faeces of healthy horses.

Lactobacillus equi sp. nov. is described on the basis of 18 strains isolated as one of the predominant intestinal lactobacilli from horse faecal specimens.