Effects of artificially introduced Enterococcus faecalis strains in experimental necrotizing enterocolitis

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 11; p. e0216762
• Main Authors: Delaplain, Patrick T, Bell, Brandon A, Wang, Jin, Isani, Mubina, Zhang, Emily, Gayer, Christopher P, Grishin, Anatoly V, Ford, Henri R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.11.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Newborn; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Biofilms; Biology and Life Sciences; Colonization; Control; Digestive system; Digestive tract; Disease Models, Animal; Drug resistance; EDTA; Engineering and Technology; Enterococcus; Enterococcus faecalis; Enterococcus faecalis - classification; Enterococcus faecalis - genetics; Enterococcus faecalis - pathogenicity; Enterocolitis; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - microbiology; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - pathology; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - prevention & control; Enterocytes; Enterocytes - microbiology; Enterocytes - pathology; Female; Gastrointestinal diseases; Gastrointestinal tract; Gelatin; Genetic Variation; Health aspects; Hemolysis; Hospitals; Humans; Hypoxia; Infant, Newborn; Inflammation; Intestine; Intestines - microbiology; Intestines - pathology; Liquefaction; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Microbial drug resistance; Necrosis; Necrotizing enterocolitis; Neonates; Newborn babies; Newborn infants; NF-κB protein; Opportunist infection; Pathogenesis; Pathogenic microorganisms; Pathology; Patient outcomes; Pediatrics; Phenotype; Physiological aspects; Pregnancy; Premature infants; Prevention; Probiotics; Probiotics - therapeutic use; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Research and Analysis Methods; Rifaximin; Risk factors; Species Specificity; Strains (organisms); Surgery; Tetracyclines; Virulence; Los Angeles California; Pittsburgh Pennsylvania; United States > US; Norway
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216762

Enterococcus faecalis is a ubiquitous intestinal symbiont and common early colonizer of the neonatal gut. Although colonization with E. faecalis has been previously associated with decreased pathology of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), these bacteria have been also implicated as opportunistic pathogens. Here we characterized 21 strains of E. faecalis, naturally occurring in 4-day-old rats, for potentially pathogenic properties and ability to colonize the neonatal gut. The strains differed in hemolysis, gelatin liquefaction, antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, and ability to activate the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB in cultured enterocytes. Only 3 strains, BB70, 224, and BB24 appreciably colonized the neonatal intestine on day 4 after artificial introduction with the first feeding. The best colonizer, strain BB70, effectively displaced E. faecalis of maternal origin. Whereas BB70 and BB24 significantly increased NEC pathology, strain 224 significantly protected from NEC. Our results show that different strains of E. faecalis may be pathogenic or protective in experimental NEC.