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Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) bearing the fimbrial colonisation factor antigens CFA/I, CFA/II, CFA/III, and the non-fimbrial antigen 2230 were tested for their ability to adhere to two cultured human intestinal HT-29 mucus secreting cell subpopulations. These populations are referred to as HT29-MTX and HT29-FU, which differ in the amount of secreted mucins and in their gastric or colonic mucin immunoreactivity respectively. Adherence of radiolabelled bacteria to cell monolayers infected apically was assessed. All ETEC strains adhered to the mucus secreting HT29-FU subpopulation, which secretes mucins of colonic immunoreactivity. Visualisation of bacteria by scanning electron microscopy showed that ETEC bound to the HT29-FU cells possessing a brush border, but not to the mucus and that ETEC binding developed as a function of cell differentiation. The adhesion of ETEC to cells possessing a brush border and to mucus secreting cells was also analysed by indirect immunofluorescence in HT29-MTX cells, which secrete mucins of gastric immunoreactivity. Fluorescein isothiocyanate labelling using specific anti-CFA/I antibody was used to show ETEC; rhodamine isothiocyanate labelling using a monoclonal antibody (designated M1) against purified human gastric mucus was used to detect secreted mucins, and rhodamine isothiocyanate labelling using a monoclonal antibody (designated 4H3) against human dipeptidylpeptidase IV was used to show cells possessing a brush border. Binding of bacteria colocalised with dipeptidylpeptidase IV of enterocytes and not with mucins.

Four human Lactobacillus acidophilus strains were tested for their ability to adhere onto human enterocyte like Caco-2 cells in culture. The LA 1 strain exhibited a high calcium independent adhesive property. This adhesion onto Caco-2 cells required a proteinaceous adhesion promoting factor, which was present in the spent bacterial broth culture supernatant. LA 1 strain also strongly bound to the mucus secreted by the homogeneous cultured human goblet cell line HT29-MTX. The inhibitory effect of LA 1 organisms against Caco-2 cell adhesion and cell invasion by a large variety of diarrhoeagenic bacteria was investigated. As a result, the following dose dependent inhibitions were obtained: (a) against the cell association of enterotoxigenic, diffusely adhering and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhimurium; (b) against the cell invasion by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, and Salmonella typhimurium. Incubations of L acidophilus LA 1 before and together with enterovirulent E coli were more effective than incubation after infection by E coli.

Thirteen human bifidobacterial strains were tested for their abilities to adhere to human enterocyte-like Caco-2 cells in culture. The adhering strains were also tested for binding to the mucus produced by the human mucus-secreting HT29-MTX cell line in culture. A high level of calcium-independent adherence was observed for Bifidobacterium breve 4, for Bifidobacterium infantis 1, and for three fresh human isolates from adults. As observed by scanning electron microscopy, adhesion occurs to the apical brush border of the enterocytic Caco-2 cells and to the mucus secreted by the HT29-MTX mucus-secreting cells. The bacteria interacted with the well-defined apical microvilli of Caco-2 cells without cell damage. The adhesion to Caco-2 cells of bifidobacteria did not require calcium and was mediated by a proteinaceous adhesion-promoting factor which was present both in the bacterial whole cells and in the spent supernatant of bifidobacterium culture. This adhesion-promoting factor appeared species specific, as are the adhesion-promoting factors of lactobacilli. We investigated the inhibitory effect of adhering human bifidobacterial strains against intestinal cell monolayer colonization by a variety of diarrheagenic bacteria. B. breve 4, B. infantis 1, and fresh human isolates were shown to inhibit cell association of enterotoxigenic, enteropathogenic, diffusely adhering Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium strains to enterocytic Caco-2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, B. breve 4 and B. infantis 1 strains inhibited, dose dependently, Caco-2 cell invasion by enteropathogenic E. coli, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, and S. typhimurium strains.

Heat-killed L. acidophilus, strain LB, was tested for its ability to adhere in vitro onto human enterocyte-like Caco-2 and muco-secreting HT29-MTX cells in culture. The heat-killed LB bacteria exhibited a high adhesive property. A diffuse pattern of adhesion was observed to the undifferentiated cells, the apical brush border of the enterocytic cells, and to the mucus layer that covered the surface of the mucus-secreting cells. The inhibitory effect of heat-killed LB organisms against the human intestinal Caco-2 cell-adhesion and cell-invasion by a large variety of diarrhoeagenic bacteria was investigated. The following dose-dependent inhibitions were obtained: (i) against the cell-association of enterotoxigenic, diffusely-adhering and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, and Salmonella typhimurium; (ii) against the cell-invasion by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium.

Salmonella typhimurium and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) were found to adhere to the brush border of differentiated human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells in culture, whereas Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Listeria monocytogenes adhered to the periphery of undifferentiated Caco-2 cells. All these enterovirulent strains invaded the Caco-2 cells. Using a heat-killed human Lactobacillus acidophilus (strain LB) which strongly adheres both to undifferentiated and differentiated Caco-2 cells, we have studied inhibition of cell association with and invasion within Caco-2 cells by enterovirulent bacteria. Living and heat-killed Lactobacillus acidophilus strain LB inhibited both cell association and invasion of Caco-2 cells by enterovirulent bacteria in a concentration-dependent manner. The mechanism of inhibition of both adhesion and invasion appears to be due to steric hindrance of human enterocytic pathogen receptors by whole-cell lactobacilli rather than to a specific blockade of receptors.

The adhesion of Lactobacillus acidophilus BG2FO4, a human stool isolate, to two human enterocytelike cell lines (Caco-2 and HT-29) and to the mucus secreted by a subpopulation of mucus-secreting HT29-MTX cells was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the bacteria interacted with the well-defined apical microvilli of Caco-2 cells without cell damage and with the mucus secreted by the subpopulation of HT29-MTX cells. The adhesion to Caco-2 cells did not require calcium and involved an adhesion-promoting factor that was present in the spent supernatant of L. acidophilus cultures. This factor promoted adhesion of poorly adhering human Lactobacillus casei GG but did not promote adhesion of L. casei CNRZ 387, a strain of dairy origin. The adherence components on the bacterial cells and in the spent supernatant were partially characterized. Carbohydrates on the bacterial cell wall appeared to be partly responsible for the interaction between the bacteria and the extracellular adhesion-promoting factor. The adhesion-promoting factor was proteinaceous, since trypsin treatment dramatically decreased the adhesion of the L. acidophilus strain. The adhesion-promoting factor may be an important component of Lactobacillus species that colonize the gastrointestinal tract.