Selection of Bifidobacterium strains as probiotics for preterm infants: the most vulnerable neonates to infection

Comunicación presentada en la Summer school Bifidobacteria – Applications in infection, inflammation, and cancer, celebrada en Ulm, Alemania, del 28 de julio al 1 de agosto de 2014Preterm infants show an abnormal intestinal microbial colonization pattern with elevated levels of potentially pathogenic facultative anaerobes and reduced levels of commensal anaerobes during the first weeks of life. This makes preterm neonates more susceptible to gastrointestinal infections and health problems in early and later life. Bifidobacterium is one of the most important genus used as probiotics for neonates, playing an important role in intestinal microbial modulation, host defence mechanisms, maturation of the immune system and priming the host immune system against microbial pathogens in early life. We undertook an in vitro characterization of Bifidobacterium strains isolated from human breast-milk and stool samples from breast fed infants. Some strains were capable of inhibiting pathogenic bacteria’s growth and inhibiting the adhesion of the pathogens to infant intestinal mucus. Moreover, some bifidobaterial strains showed an strong ability to correct the aberrant intestinal microbiota profile of preterm neonates, reducing the levels of enterobacterias and potential pathogens such as Klebsiella, and increasing the levels of beneficial anaerobic microorganisms in in vitro faecal cultures; thus, narrowing the differences with respect to full-term infants. In this work we selected some Bifidobacterium strains as potential probiotics destined to reduce infection risk and improve healthy intestinal microbiota in preterm newborns.Peer Reviewe