Antagonistic activities of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria against microbial pathogens

• Published in: FEMS microbiology reviews Vol. 28; no. 4; pp. 405 - 440
• Main Author: Servin, Alain L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Elsevier B.V 01.10.2004; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: animal pathogenic bacteria; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - biosynthesis; Antibiosis; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; antimicrobial activity; antimicrobial properties; Antimicrobials; Bacteria - growth & development; Bacteria - pathogenicity; Bacterial Adhesion; Bacterial Infections - microbiology; Bacterial Infections - prevention & control; Bacteriology; Barriers; Bifidobacteria; Bifidobacterium; Bifidobacterium - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Bowel disease; Chemical attack; Diarrhea; digestive system diseases; Epithelium; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastrointestinal Diseases - microbiology; Gastrointestinal Diseases - prevention & control; Gastrointestinal pathogens; Gastrointestinal system; Gastrointestinal tract; Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology; H. pylori infection; Humans; Hydrogen Peroxide - metabolism; In vivo methods and tests; Intestinal microflora; intestinal microorganisms; Intestine; Intrusion; Lactobacilli; Lactobacillus; Lactobacillus - physiology; Microbiology; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Organic chemistry; Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains; Pathogens; Phenotypes; Rotavirus - growth & development; Rotavirus - pathogenicity; Rotavirus Infections - prevention & control; Rotavirus Infections - virology; Signal transduction; Surface-Active Agents - metabolism; Urinary Tract Infections - microbiology; Urinary Tract Infections - prevention & control; Gastrointestinal pathogens; Bifidobacteria; Antimicrobials; Lactobacilli; Bowel disease; Diarrhea; H. pylori infection; infection; Lactic acid bacteria; Microflora; Review; Antimicrobial agent; Antagonism; Bacteria; Intestinal disease; Lactobacillaceae; Digestive tract; Lactobacillus; Microorganism interrelationships; Digestive system; Epithelium; Experimental study; Strain; Pathogenicity; Digestive diseases; Microorganism
• ISSN: 0168-6445; 1574-6976; 1574-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.femsre.2004.01.003

The gastrointestinal tract is a complex ecosystem that associates a resident microbiota and cells of various phenotypes lining the epithelial wall expressing complex metabolic activities. The resident microbiota in the digestive tract is a heterogeneous microbial ecosystem containing up to 1×10 14 colony-forming units (CFUs) of bacteria. The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in normal gut function and maintaining host health. The host is protected from attack by potentially harmful microbial microorganisms by the physical and chemical barriers created by the gastrointestinal epithelium. The cells lining the gastrointestinal epithelium and the resident microbiota are two partners that properly and/or synergistically function to promote an efficient host system of defence. The gastrointestinal cells that make up the epithelium, provide a physical barrier that protects the host against the unwanted intrusion of microorganisms into the gastrointestinal microbiota, and against the penetration of harmful microorganisms which usurp the cellular molecules and signalling pathways of the host to become pathogenic. One of the basic physiological functions of the resident microbiota is that it functions as a microbial barrier against microbial pathogens. The mechanisms by which the species of the microbiota exert this barrier effect remain largely to be determined. There is increasing evidence that lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, which inhabit the gastrointestinal microbiota, develop antimicrobial activities that participate in the host's gastrointestinal system of defence. The objective of this review is to analyze the in vitro and in vivo experimental and clinical studies in which the antimicrobial activities of selected lactobacilli and bifidobacteria strains have been documented.