2007 Press Releases
Combating infectious disease with probiotics
UCC scientists have discovered that probiotic bacteria can protect
against bacterial infection. The work carried out in the Alimentary
Pharmabiotic Centre (APC), UCC was published recently in the
prestigious scientific journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In fact, an image based on the work of the group was also chosen to
illustrate the cover of the journal, a significant achievement for the
UCC-based team.
The APC, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, was set up investigate
the beneficial roles of the bacteria found in the gastro-intestine of
healthy humans. The research group examined a range of beneficial
bacteria and found one specific probiotic bacterium (Lactobacillus salivarius UCC118) which was able to kill Listeria monocytogenes,
an often lethal pathogen in pregnant women. The probiotic kills the
pathogen by producing an antibiotic-like compound called a
bacteriocin. Tests showed that Lactobacillus salivarius offered significant protection against Listeria infection but that a strain of non-bacteriocin producing Lactobacillus
generated by the researchers did not. The results of the UCC work
clearly demonstrate a role for bacteriocins in protecting the host
against potentially lethal infections. The study is the first to
clearly demonstrate a mechanism by which probiotic bacteria may act to
help improve the health of consumers.
The results may prove to be very significant, in that Listeria monocytogenes
is particularly dangerous during pregnancy, and in a number of other
high risk groups, but is too rare to warrant vaccination or
preventative antibiotic therapy. A probiotic taken during
pregnancy could well provide protection against Listeria infection in a form which would be acceptable to expectant mothers.
The study was primarily conducted by Sinead Corr as part of her
research towards her PhD, but also involved key contributions from
other APC scientists Yin Li and Christian Riedel. The research
was supervised by APC Principal Investigators Colin Hill, Cormac Gahan
and Paul O'Toole from the Department of Microbiology and the School of
Pharmacy, UCC.
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