Human milk oligosaccharides and non-digestible carbohydrates reduce pathogen adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells by decoy effects or by attenuating bacterial virulence

Chunli Kong; Anne de Jong; Bart J de Haan; Jan Kok; Paul de Vos

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110867

Human milk oligosaccharides and non-digestible carbohydrates reduce pathogen adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells by decoy effects or by attenuating bacterial virulence

Food Res Int. 2022 Jan:151:110867. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110867. Epub 2021 Dec 7.

Authors

Chunli Kong¹, Anne de Jong², Bart J de Haan³, Jan Kok², Paul de Vos³

Affiliations

¹ School of Food and Health, Beijing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Food Additives, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Beijing Technology and Business University, 100048 Beijing, China; Immunoendocrinology, Division of Medical Biology, Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9700 RB Groningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: c.kong@umcg.nl.
² Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands.
³ Immunoendocrinology, Division of Medical Biology, Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9700 RB Groningen, the Netherlands.

PMID: 34980402
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110867

Abstract

This work investigated the effects of different chemical structures of human milk oligosaccharides (hMOs) and non-digestible carbohydrates (NDCs) on pathogen adhesion by serving as decoy receptors. Pre-exposure of pathogens to inulins and low degree of methylation (DM) pectin prevented binding to gut epithelial Caco2-cells, but effects were dependent on the molecules' chemistry, pathogen strain and growth phase. Pre-exposure to 3-fucosyllactose increased E. coli WA321 adhesion (28%, p < 0.05), and DM69 pectin increased E. coli ET8 (15 fold, p < 0.05) and E. coli WA321 (50%, p < 0.05) adhesion. Transcriptomics analysis revealed that DM69 pectin upregulated flagella and cell membrane associated genes. However, the top 10 downregulated genes were associated with lowering of bacteria virulence. DM69 pectin increased pathogen adhesion but bacterial virulence was attenuated illustrating different mechanisms may lower pathogen adhesion. Our study illustrates that both hMOs and NDCs can reduce adhesion or attenuate virulence of pathogens but that these effects are chemistry dependent.

Keywords: Fucosyllactose; Infection; Inulin; Pectin; Transcriptomics analysis; Virulence.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Caco-2 Cells
Epithelial Cells
Escherichia coli*
Humans
Milk, Human*
Oligosaccharides
Virulence

Substances

Oligosaccharides