AUTHOR=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 

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00273

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2019.00273

ISSN=1664-302X

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