Prospects of using antagonistic activity of lactobacilli to suppress the growth of Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile

Aim: to evaluate antagonistic properties of Lactobacilli against clinically relevant Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile strains. Materials and methods: we assessed antagonistic properties of 21 Lactobacilli strains isolated from the patients’colon biotope against 31 clinically relevant C. difficile strains isolated from faeces of the patients with C. difficile-associated diarrhea by means of a double-step culturing in the combined cultivation system. Results: Lactobacilli strains isolated from the patients’colon biotope had selective antagonistic properties against C. difficile. Lactobacilli strains had different spectrum and intensity of antagonistic activity that showed no correlation neither with species, nor with natural population size. We isolated Lactobacilli strains with high antagonistic activity (L. paracasei 101, L. gasseri 341/2, L. paracasei 340/1). We isolated bacteriocins from Lactobacilli cultures. The influence of bacteriocins on C. difficile strains correlated with antagonistic activity of Lactobacilli; bacteriocins suppressed C. difficile growth in dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: evaluation of Lactobacilli antagonistic activity is a prospective approach to struggle against nosocomial infection caused by resistant strains, particularly using Lactobacilli autostrains for suppression of toxigenic C. difficile strains growth.