Potential and mechanisms of Lactobacillus casei to prevent Clostridium difficile infection studied in a combined in vitro intestinal fermentation - cellular model- Industry

Enlarged view: Fig 1. Set-up of elderly continuous fermentation models with immobilized gut microbiota (Fehlbau et al 2015 PLOS ONE 10(11): e0142793)
Fig 1. Set-up of elderly continuous fermentation models with immobilized gut microbiota (Fehlbau et al 2015 PLOS ONE 10(11): e0142793)

The main objective of this project is to investigate effects and mechanisms of Lactobacillus casei for the prevention and eventually treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). An in vitro continuous colonic fermentation model with immobilized elder gut microbiota using the PolyFermS fermentation platform has been developed and validated to mimic infection with C. difficile in the proximal and distal colon sections of elderly. This model is applied to test the effects of different antibiotics, prebiotics and probiotic L. casei strain on gut microbiota composition and metabolism, and on the development of the pathogen. Furthermore a cellular model of mucus-secreting intestinal cell line HT29-MTX and PBMC is used in combination with the in vitro colonic fermentation model of CDI to study in vitro selected mechanisms of the probiotic strain for host protection.

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