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In vitro effect of vaginal lactobacilli on the growth and adhesion abilities of uropathogenic Escherichia coli

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Abstract

Escherichia coli is one of the main causes of uncomplicated urinary tract infections and responsible of vaginal infections. Lactobacilli can inhibit this pathogen by the production of antimicrobial substances as organic acids, hydrogen peroxide and/or bacteriocins. The aim of this work was to study the effects of beneficial vaginal lactobacilli on E. coli through in vitro experiments. The inhibitory activity of three vaginal Lactobacillus strains against E. coli was assessed using the agar plate diffusion. Moreover, the effect of Lactobacillus reuteri CRL (Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos Culture Collection) 1324 on the adhesion and internalization capabilities of E. coli was studied on HeLa cells. Two Lactobacillus strains inhibited the growth of the pathogens by production of organic acids. L. reuteri CRL 1324 reduced the adhesion and internalization of E. coli 275 into HeLa cells. The results obtained suggest that L. reuteri CRL 1324 can be considered as a probiotic candidate for further in vivo studies for the prevention or treatment of urinary tract infections caused by E. coli.

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Acknowledgements

This paper was supported by CONICET (ConsejoNacional de InvestigacionesCientíficas y Técnicas, Argentina) (PIP 744) and ANPCyT (AgenciaNacional de PromociónCientífica y Tecnológica) (PICT 2012-1187), and was partially performed within the framework of a Bilateral Cooperation Project (A12-B01) between Mincyt (Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva de Argentina) and ECOS-SUD (France). The strains were licensed through a CONICET-BIOLIFE agreement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (CERELA)-CONICET, Chacabuco 145, 4000, Tucumán, Argentina

    María Cecilia Leccese Terraf, María Silvina Juarez Tomás & María Elena Fátima Nader-Macías

  2. INRA, UMR 1253 STLO, Agrocampus Ouest, Rennes Cedex, France

    Lucie Rault, Yves Le Loir & Sergine Even

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  1. María Cecilia Leccese Terraf
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  2. María Silvina Juarez Tomás
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  3. Lucie Rault
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  4. Yves Le Loir
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  5. Sergine Even
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  6. María Elena Fátima Nader-Macías
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Correspondence to María Elena Fátima Nader-Macías.

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Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.

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Leccese Terraf, M.C., Juarez Tomás, M.S., Rault, L. et al. In vitro effect of vaginal lactobacilli on the growth and adhesion abilities of uropathogenic Escherichia coli . Arch Microbiol 199, 767–774 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-016-1336-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-016-1336-z

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