长双歧杆菌NCC2705菌株应激蛋白的研究

研究长双歧杆菌NCC2705菌株发酵至稳定期时应激蛋白的表达情况。根据乳酸乳球菌IL1403菌株蛋白质参考图谱及长双歧杆菌NCC2705基因组注释中应激蛋白的分子量与等电点,确定应激蛋白在双向电泳凝胶上的相应蛋白点,并利用MALDI-TOF和/或ESI-MS/MS对相应蛋白质点进行鉴定。每个蛋白质点的肽指纹图谱均在长双歧杆菌NCC2705的蛋白质数据库用Mascot进行检索,共鉴定到44个蛋白点对应8个应激蛋白。这些蛋白为亲水性酸性蛋白,大多具有翻译后修饰现象,它们基因的CAI值除DnaJ外,其余均在0.5以上,在全细胞表达谱中为高丰度蛋白;此外,菌体具有较强的抗脂质过氧化和清除DPPH自由基的能力,而对羟自由基和超氧负离子的清除力较弱,推测鉴定到的具有逆转氧化损害作用的碱性过氧化氢还原酶(ahpC)可能是体内表达的降低氧损伤的主要酶。     

Sugar transport systems of Bifidobacterium longum NCC2705

Here we present the complement of the carbohydrate uptake systems of the strictly anaerobic probiotic Bifidobacterium longum NCC2705. The genome analysis of this bacterium predicts that it has 19 permeases for the uptake of diverse carbohydrates. The majority belongs to the ATP-binding cassette transporter family with 13 systems identified. Among them are permeases for lactose, maltose, raffinose, and fructooligosaccharides, a commonly used prebiotic additive. We found genes that encode a complete phosphotransferase system (PTS) and genes for three permeases of the major facilitator superfamily. These systems could serve for the import of glucose, galactose, lactose, and sucrose. Growth analysis of NCC2705 cells combined with biochemical characterization and microarray data showed that the predicted substrates are consumed and that the corresponding transport and catabolic genes are expressed. Biochemical analysis of the PTS, in which proteins are central in regulation of carbon metabolism in many bacteria, revealed that B. longum has a glucose-specific PTS, while two other species (Bifidobacterium lactis and Bifidobacterium bifidum) have a fructose-6-phosphate-forming fructose-PTS instead. It became obvious that most carbohydrate systems are closely related to those from other actinomycetes, with a few exceptions. We hope that this report on B. longum carbohydrate transporter systems will serve as a guide for further in-depth analyses on the nutritional lifestyle of this beneficial bacterium.     

Differential expression of virulence and stress fitness genes during interaction between Listeria monocytogenes and Bifidobacterium longum

Bifidobacterium is well known to have an inhibitory effect on the survival, growth, and proliferation of various foodborne pathogens, but the mechanism of the molecular action of B. longum in blocking the invasion of Listeria monocytogenes is not yet well defined. In the present study, following RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, differential expression of virulence and stress fitness genes in L. monocytogenes and B. longum was determined by real-time PCR. The results indicate that L. monocytogenes virulence factors, including actA, hly, inlA, and plcA, showed significantly downregulated expression during co-incubation of B. longum and L. monocytogenes in phosphate-buffered saline. The relative mRNA levels of oppA and serpin, two stress fitness genes in B. longum, were significantly higher than for the control group. These results indicate that downregulation of L. monocytogenes virulence factors during co-incubation with B. longum might be responsible for the inhibitory effects.     

大肠杆菌-长双歧杆菌穿梭载体的构建及PTEN在长双歧杆菌中的表达

长双歧杆菌可特异地定植于实体瘤低氧区,可用做肿瘤靶向性基因治疗的载体,而构建大肠杆菌-长双歧杆菌穿梭质粒则被证明是外源基因在长双歧杆菌中稳定表达的有效途径。为了构建能在长双歧杆菌中稳定表达外源基因的穿梭质粒并检测携带抑癌基因的工程菌对小鼠实体瘤的抑制效果,利用软件设计并合成了48条部分序列相互重叠的引物,通过PCR合成了长双歧杆菌质粒pMB1序列及长双歧杆菌HU启动子区序列,插入克隆载体pMD18-T,构建穿梭载体pMB-HU,该载体可在大肠杆菌DH5α及长双歧杆菌L17中稳定复制。PTEN基因编码具有蛋白质和酯类双重特异性磷酸酶活性的抑癌因子。将PTEN基因cDNA序列插入载体pMB-HU中HU启动子下游,构建重组质粒pMB-HU-PTEN,电击转化长双歧杆菌后,Western blot检测表明,表达产物中存在55kDa的PTEN蛋白特异条带。抑癌试验表明:与对照组相比,携带PTEN基因的长双歧杆菌可显著抑制小鼠实体瘤的生长。上述结果为以长双歧杆菌为载体的实体瘤靶向性基因治疗研究奠定了基础。     

Probiotic characteristics and in vitro compatibility of a combination of Bifidobacterium breve M-16 V,Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis M-63 and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum BB536

The consumption of probiotic-based products has risen greatly in recent decades. Due to their probiotic characteristics, microorganisms such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are in daily use in the production of food supplements. In the present study, three bifidobacterial strains (Bifidobacterium breve M-16 V, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis M-63 and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum BB536) were tested for growth compatibility, resistance to antimicrobial agents, antibacterial activity against pathogens, resistance to gastric acidity, bile salt hydrolysis and adhesion to the human intestinal epithelial cell line HT29. All of these strains were resistant to gentamycin, but none showed in vitro growth incompatibility or the presence of known resistance determinants. B. breve M-16 V had the best probiotic characteristics and, indeed, was the only strain possessing antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. All strains were resistant to simulated gastric juice, while only B. longum subsp. longum BB536 and B. breve M-16 V showed a bile salt hydrolytic activity. Interestingly, a strong adhesion to HT29 cells was observed in all Bifidobacterium strains. In conclusion, B. breve M-16 V, B. longum subsp. longum BB536 and B. longum subsp. infantis M-63 showed several promising characteristics as probiotic strains.     

Analgesic activity of Piper longum Linn. root

Piper longum root, commonly called Kandantippili, is traditionally used to treat rheumatism, insomnia, palsy and epilepsy. But a scientific study on its central actions is not available. This study screens P. longum root for opioid type analgesia using rat tail-flick method and for NSAID type analgesia using acetic-acid writhing method. Pentazocine (ip) and ibuprofen (oral) are used as respective drug controls. An aqueous suspension of P. longum root powder is given orally to mice and rat in doses of 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg. The delay in reaction time for thermal stimulus in rats and the number of writhings to chemical stimulus in mice are determined in each group. The results are analysed statistically. The 400 and 800 mg/kg doses of P. longum show significant NSAID type of analgesia (P < 0.001). Both Ibuprofen (40 mg/kg) and P. longum (800 mg/kg) show 50% protection against writhing. The delay in reaction time to thermal stimulus was less than 6% for different doses of P. longum as against 100% for pentazocine. This indicates that P. longum root has weak opioid but potent NSAID type of analgesic activity.     

Complete genome sequence of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum BBMN68, a new strain from a healthy chinese centenarian

Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum BBMN68 was isolated from the feces of a healthy centenarian living in an area of BaMa, Guangxi, China, known for longevity. Here we report the main genome features of B. longum strain BBMN68 and the identification of several predicted proteins associated with the ecological niche of longevity.     

长双歧杆菌发酵培养基的优化

目的对长双歧杆菌液态发酵培养基进行优化。方法以长双歧杆菌（Bifidobacteriumlongum）为发酵菌株,以MRS培养基为基础培养基,以发酵液活菌数为指标,通过单因素添加实验考察发酵培养基的碳源和氮源的种类,并验证优化后培养基的效果。结果优化后培养基的最适碳源为葡萄糖,最适氮源为酪蛋白胨、牛肉蛋白胨、水解乳蛋白,发酵液活菌数达到2．09×10^9CFU／mL,比原MRS培养基（1．22×10^9CFU／mL）提高了71．30％。结论优化后培养基优于原MRS基础培养基,可应用于长双歧杆菌的液态发酵。     

Genome comparison of Bifidobacterium longum strains NCC2705 and CRC-002 using suppression subtractive hybridization

Because probiotic effects are strain dependent, genomic explanations of these differences will contribute to understanding their mechanisms of action. The genomic sequence of the Bifidobacterium longum probiotic strain NCC2705 was determined, but little is known about the genetic diversity between strains of this species. Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) is a powerful method for generating a set of DNA fragments differing between two closely related bacterial strains. The purpose of this study was to identify genetic differences between genomes of B. longum strains NCC2705 and CRC-002 using PCR-based SSH. Strain CRC-002 produces exopolysaccharides whereas NCC2705 is not known for reliable exopolysaccharide production. Thirty-five and 30 different sequences were obtained from the SSH libraries of strains CRC-002 and NCC2705, respectively. Specific CRC-002 genes found were predicted to be involved in the biosynthesis of exopolysaccharides and metabolism of other carbohydrates, and these genes were not present in the genome of strain NCC2705. The identification of an endo-1,4-beta-xylanase gene in the CRC-002 SSH library is an important difference because xylanase genes have previously been proposed as a defining characteristic of the NCC2705 strain. The results demonstrate that the SSH technique was useful to highlight potential genes involved in complex sugar metabolism that differ between the two probiotic strains.     

Evaluation of the ability of Bifidobacterium longum to metabolize human intestinal mucus

The ability of Bifidobacterium longum to use intestinal mucus as a metabolizable source was characterized. Bifidobacterium longum biotype longum NCIMB8809 was grown in a chemically semi-defined medium supplemented with human intestinal mucus, and the cytoplasmic protein profiles and several glycosyl hydrolase activities were analysed and compared with those obtained from the same bacterium grown in the absence of mucus. We were able to identify 22 different proteins in the cytoplasmic fraction, of which nine displayed a different concentration in the presence of mucus. Among the proteins whose concentrations varied, we found specific enzymes that are involved in the response to different environmental conditions, and also proteins that mediate interaction with mucus in bacteria. Significant changes in some glycoside-hydrolysing activities were also detected. In addition, stable isotope labelling of amino acids in cell culture demonstrated that B. longum incorporates leucine from the glycoprotein matrix of mucin within its proteins. This study provides the first proteomic data regarding the interaction of B. longum with intestinal mucus, and contributes to the understanding of the behaviour of this intestinal species in its natural ecological niche.     

Transmission of intestinal Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum strains from mother to infant, determined by multilocus sequencing typing and amplified fragment length polymorphism

The gastrointestinal tracts of neonates are colonized by bacteria immediately after birth. It has been discussed that the intestinal microbiota of neonates includes strains transferred from the mothers. Although some studies have indicated possible bacterial transfer from the mother to the newborn, this is the first report confirming the transfer of bifidobacteria at the strain level. Here, we investigated the mother-to-infant transmission of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum by genotyping bacterial isolates from the feces of mothers before delivery and of their infants after delivery. Two hundred seven isolates from 8 pairs of mothers and infants were discriminated by multilocus sequencing typing (MLST) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. By both methods, 11 strains of B. longum subsp. longum were found to be monophyletic for the feces of the mother and her infant. This finding confirms that these strains were transferred from the intestine of the mother to that of the infant. These strains were found in the first feces (meconium) of the infant and in the feces at days 3, 7, 30, and 90 after birth, indicating that they stably colonize the infant's intestine immediately after birth. The strains isolated from each family did not belong to clusters derived from any of the other families, suggesting that each mother-infant pair might have unique family-specific strains.     

Cloned cytosine deaminase gene expression of Bifidobacterium longum and application to enzyme/pro-drug therapy of hypoxic solid tumors

Bifidobacterium longum is a nonpathogenic anaerobic bacterium among normal bacterial flora. Recently, it was reported that B. longum accumulated in hypoxic solid tumors. The gene of interest was expressed in transfected B. longum by the shuttle vector pBLES100 in solid tumors. In this report, we constructed pBLES100-S-eCD, which included the cytosine deaminase gene. We confirmed by western blotting that transfected B. longum produced cytosine deaminase. In addition, transfected B. longum produced cytosine deaminase that converted 5-fluorocytosine into 5-fluorouracil. B. longum could be useful for enzyme/pro-drug therapy of hypoxic solid tumors.     

Isolation and characterization of two plasmids from Bifidobacterium longum

In order to develop a cloning vector system which can be used in Bifidobacterium sp., we screened about 100 bifidobacteria from the faeces of adults and children. Among them, only one strain, identified as B. longum KJ, was shown to contain extrachromosomal DNAs. Bifidobacterium longum KJ showed multiple plasmid DNA bands which were resolved to be multimers of two plasmids designated pKJ36 and pKJ50. These plasmids were cloned into the Escherichia coli vector pUC19 as pMS36 and pMS50, respectively, and restriction-mapped.