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Probiotic Lactobacillus casei Expressing Human Lactoferrin Elevates Antibacterial Activity in the Gastrointestinal Tract

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Abstract

In this study, Lactobacillus casei was used to deliver and express human lactoferrin (hLF) to protect the host against bacterial infection. Full-length hLF cDNA was cloned into a Lactobacillus-specific plasmid to produce the L. casei transformants (rhLF/L. casei). Antimicrobial activity of recombinant hLF was examined in inhibition of bacteria growth in vitro. A mouse model was established to test in vivo antibacterial activity and protective effect of orally-administered probiotic L. casei transformant in the gastrointestinal tract. Trials were conducted in which animals were challenged with E. coli ATCC25922. E. coli colony numbers in duodenal fluid from the group fed with rhLF/L. casei were significantly lower than those of the group fed with wild-type L. casei or placebo (P < 0.01). Histopathological analyses of the small intestine, showed both decreased intestinal injury and increased villi length were observed in the mice fed with rhLF/L. casei as compared with the control groups (P < 0.01). Our results demonstrate that L. casei expressing hLF exhibited antibacterial activity both in in vitro and in vivo. It also provides a potentially large-scale production of hLF as applications for treatment of infections caused by clinically relevant pathogens.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Jeffrey Conrad for critically reading the manuscript. We also thank Mr. Tung-Chou Tsai for his assistance in animal care. This research was supported in part by grant NSC-96-2313-B- 005-012 from the National Science Council, and the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, Republic of China, under the ATU plan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Da-Yeh University, Changhwa, 515, Taiwan

    Hsiao-Ling Chen & Willie Lin

  2. Department of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, No. 250, Kuo Kuang Road, Taichung, 402, Taiwan

    Yi-Wen Lai, Chua-Shun Chen, Te-Wei Chu, Chih-Ching Yen, Ming-Fong Lin, Ming-Yu Tu & Chuan-Mu Chen

  3. Program of Technology Management, Fun Jen Catholic University, Hsinchuang, 242, Taiwan

    Willie Lin

  4. China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

    Chih-Ching Yen & Chuan-Mu Chen

  5. Department of Health, Taichung Hospital, Taichung, 403, Taiwan

    Ming-Fong Lin

  6. Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital, Taichung, 411, Taiwan

    Ming-Yu Tu

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  1. Hsiao-Ling Chen
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  2. Yi-Wen Lai
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Correspondence to Chuan-Mu Chen.

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Hsiao-Ling Chen, Yi-Wen Lai, and Chua-Shun Chen contributed equally to this work.

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Chen, HL., Lai, YW., Chen, CS. et al. Probiotic Lactobacillus casei Expressing Human Lactoferrin Elevates Antibacterial Activity in the Gastrointestinal Tract. Biometals 23, 543–554 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-010-9298-0

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