Lactobacillus gasseri APC 678 Reduces Shedding of the Pathogen Clostridium difficile in a Murine Model

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology Vol. 10; p. 273
• Main Authors: Quigley, Lisa, Coakley, Mairéad, Alemayehu, Debebe, Rea, Mary C, Casey, Patrick G, O'Sullivan, Órla, Murphy, Eileen, Kiely, Barry, Cotter, Paul D, Hill, Colin, Ross, R Paul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 20.02.2019
• Subjects: C. difficile infection (CDI); Clostridium difficile; Lactobacillus gasseri; live therapeutic agent; Microbiology; murine model; C. difficile infection (CDI); live therapeutic agent; murine model; Clostridium difficile; Lactobacillus gasseri
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00273

is a common cause of health-care acquired diarrhea, resulting in a spectrum of disease from mild diarrhea to life-threatening illness. Sixty strains were screened for anti- activity using a co-culture method. Based on their ability to inhibit , APC 678 and DPC 6111 were selected for study in a murine model of infection. ATCC 33323, was included as a control. It was established that, relative to control mice not fed , feeding with APC 678 resulted in a significant reduction by day 7 (8-fold, = 0.017) of viable VPI 10463 in the feces of mice. In contrast, neither DPC 6111 nor ATCC 33323 significantly reduced fecal shedding. Sequencing of the cecal microbiota showed that in mice fed APC 678 there was a significant increase in bacterial diversity across a number of indices when compared to the control or other -fed groups. There was no significant change in the relative abundance of Firmicutes or Bacteroidetes in the group fed APC 678 relative to the control, while the groups fed DPC 6111 or ATCC 33323 showed a significant decrease in the relative abundance of Firmicutes ( = 0.002 and = 0.019, respectively) and a significant increase in Bacteroidetes ( = 0.002 and = 0.023, respectively). These results highlight the potential of APC 678 as a live therapeutic agent to target infection.