Good adhesion properties of probiotics: a potential risk for bacteremia?

Abstract

The ability to adhere to human intestinal mucus was tested for lactic acid bacteria of clinical blood culture, human fecal and dairy origin. The blood culture isolates were found to adhere better than the dairy strains. Of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains (nine clinical, 10 fecal and three dairy), blood culture isolates adhered better than the fecal strains. Although these results indicate a trend for blood culture isolates to bind to intestinal mucus in higher numbers than strains of dairy and human fecal origin, other factors are also likely to be involved in the etiology of lactobacillemia since some of the clinical Lactobacillus isolates exhibited a relatively low level of adhesion.

Soluble Proteins Produced by Probiotic Bacteria Regulate Intestinal Epithelial Cell Survival and Growth

“…In addition, use of live probiotic bacteria raises concerns because of several cases of bacteremia associated with probiotic therapy in very young 33 and immunocompromised patients. 34 Therefore, one approach to address these questions may be to use probiotic bacterial-derived proteins as novel therapeutic agents for treatment of IBD and other inflammation-related disorders.…”

Probiotics in Larvae and Juvenile Whiteleg Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

“…The ability to adhere to the intestinal mucus in considered one of the main criteria in the selection of potential probiotics as adhesion prolongs their permanence in the intestine and thus allows them to exert healthful effect (Apostolou et al, 2001). …”

Colon-specific delivery of a probiotic-derived soluble protein ameliorates intestinal inflammation in mice through an EGFR-dependent mechanism

“…For example, bacteremia associated with probiotic therapy has been reported in very young (12) and immunocompromised patients (13). One potential approach to address these concerns may be development of probiotic bacteriaderived proteins as novel therapeutic agents.…”