BifidobacteriumlongumWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Bifidobacteriumlongum
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Bifidobacteriumlongumisagrampositive,catalasenegative,rod
shapedbacteriumpresentinthehumangastrointestinaltractandoneof
the32speciesthatbelongtothegenusBifidobacterium.[1][2]Itisa
microaerotolerantanaerobeandconsideredtobeoneoftheearliest
colonizersofthegastrointestinaltractofinfants.[1]Whengrownon
generalanaerobicmedium,B.longumformswhite,glossycolonieswith
aconvexshape.[3]WhileB.longumisnotsignificantlypresentinthe
adultgastrointestinaltract,itisconsideredpartofthegutfloraandits
productionoflacticacidisbelievedtopreventgrowthofpathogenic
organisms.[4]B.longumisnonpathogenicandisoftenaddedtofood
productsforitsbeneficialprobiotichealtheffects.[1][5]

Contents
1Classification
2Environment

Bifidobacteriumlongum
Scientificclassification
Kingdom: Bacteria
Division: Firmicutes
Class:

Actinobacteria

Order:

Bifidobacteriales

Family:

Bifidobacteriaceae

Genus:

Bifidobacterium

Species:

B.longum

Binomialname
Bifidobacteriumlongum
Reuter

3Metabolism
4Probiotichealthbenefits
5Therapeuticuses
5.1Cancertreatment
5.2Immunesystemregulation
5.3Sensitiveskintreatment
5.4Pancreaticnecrosis
6References
7FurtherReading
8Externallinks

Classification
In2002,threepreviouslydistinctspeciesofBifidobacterium,B.infantis,B.longum,andB.suis,were
unifiedintoasinglespeciesnamedB.longumwiththebiotypesinfantis,longum,andsuisrespectively.[6]
ThisoccurredasthethreespecieshadextensiveDNAsimilarityincludinga16srRNAgenesequence
similaritygreaterthan97%.[7]Inaddition,thethreeoriginalspecieswerephenotypicallydifficultto
distinguishduetodifferentcarbohydratefermentationpatternsamongstrainsofthesamespecies.[1]As
probioticactivityvariesamongstrainsofB.longum,thereexistsaninterestintheexactclassificationof
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newstrains,althoughthisismadedifficultbythehighgenesimilaritybetweenthethreebiotypes.[8]
Currently,strainidentificationisdonethroughpolymerasechainreaction(PCR)onthesubtlydifferent16s
rRNAgenesequences.[8]

Environment
B.longumcolonizesthehumangastrointestinaltractwhereit,alongwithotherBifidobacterium,represents
upto90%ofthebacteriaofaninfantsgastrointestinaltract.[2]Thisnumbergraduallydropsto3%inan
adultsgastrointestinaltractasotherentericbacteriasuchasBacteroidesandEubacteriumbeginto
dominate.[4]SomestrainsofB.longumwerefoundtohavehightoleranceforgastricacidandbile,
suggestingthatthesestrainswouldbeabletosurvivethegastrointestinaltracttocolonizethelowersmall
andlargeintestines.[5][9]ThepersistenceofB.longuminthegutisattributedtotheglycoproteinbinding
fimbriaestructuresandbacterialpolysaccharides,thelatterofwhichpossessstrongelectrostaticcharges
thataidintheadhesionofB.longumtointestinalendothelialcells.[1][10]Thisadhesionisalsoenhancedby
thefattyacidsinthelipoteichoicacidoftheB.longumcellwall.[10]

Metabolism
B.longumisconsideredtobeascavenger,possessingmultiplecatabolicpathwaystoutilizealargevariety
ofnutrientsinordertoincreaseitscompetitivenessamongthegutflora.[4]Upto19typesofpermeaseexist
totransportvariouscarbohydrateswith13beingATPbindingcassettetransporters.[11]B.longumhas
severalglycosylhydrolasestometabolisecomplexoligosaccharidesforcarbonandenergy.[2]Thisis
necessaryasmonoanddisaccharideshaveusuallybeenconsumedbythetimetheyreachthelower
gastrointestinaltractwhereB.longumreside.[1]Inaddition,B.longumcanuniquelyferment
galactomannanrichnaturalgumusingglucosaminidasesandalphamannosidasesthatparticipateinthe
fermentationofglucosamineandmannoserespectively.[1]Thehighnumbergenesassociatedwith
oligosaccharidemetabolismisaresultofgeneduplicationandhorizontalgenetransfer,indicatingthatB.
longumisunderselectivepressuretoincreaseitscapabilitytocompeteforvarioussubstratesinthe
gastrointestinaltract.[1]Furthermore,B.longumpossesseshydrolases,deaminases,anddehydratasesin
ordertofermentaminoacids.[1]B.longumalsohavebilesalthydrolasestohydrolyzebilesaltsintoamino
acidsandbileacids.Thefunctionofthisisnotclear,althoughitissuggestedthatB.longumcouldusethe
aminoacidsproductsorbettertoleratebilesalts.[12]

Probiotichealthbenefits
Asanimportantorganisminvolvedinthemaintenanceofthehumangastrointestinaltract,B.longumis
commonlyusedasaprobioticinvariousdairyproducts.[8][13]Itspresencehasbeenassociatedwithmany
healthbenefitsincludingimprovinglactosetoleranceandpreventingdiarrhea,foodallergies,and
colonizationbypathogens.[1][4]SomestrainsofB.longumweredemonstratedtohaveanantioxidative
effectbyinhibitinglinoleicacidperoxidation,[13]aprocessthatresultsinthecreationoflipid
hydroperoxidesthatdecomposeintohighlyreactiveradicalsassociatedwithagingandagerelated
diseases.[14]Additionally,B.longumcanscavengefreeradicals,loweringapersonschanceof
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atherosclerosisandstroke.[13]TheabilityofB.longumtoremovecholesterolfromitsenvironmentby
incorporatingcholesterolintoitsmembraneisthoughttolowertheserumcholesterollevelinhumans.B.
longummayalsobindandsuppressresorptionofbileacids,[9]whichalsolowersserumcholesterollevelsas
bilesaltreplacementrequiresutilizationofcholesterolwithinthebody.[15]B.longumsupplementationwas
showntosignificantlysuppresstumorvolumeandincidence,althoughtheexactmechanismisnotclear.
SincehighcolonicpHisthoughttopromotecolorectalcancer,itispostulatedthatB.longumcaninhibit
colorectalcancerbyproducingbileacidandcholesterolmetabolitesthatlowertheintestinalpH.[16]

Therapeuticuses
Cancertreatment
Asananaerobe,B.longumisabletolocalizeandproliferateinthehypoxicregionsofsolidtumorswhen
injectedintravenously.[5]ItisproposedthatbyintroducinggenesintoB.longumthatgenerateantitumor
enzymes,B.longumwillbeabletoactasthevectorincancergenetherapy.[5]B.longumisanidealvector
asitsactionsshouldremaintumorspecific,itisnonpathogenic,anditgenerallyeasilykilledbyantibiotics
unlikeotherpotentialanaerobicvectorssuchasSalmonellaorClostridium.[5]

Immunesystemregulation
SeveralstudiesindicatethatB.longumhasapositiveeffectonmodulatingtheimmunesystem.Astrainof
B.longumhasbeenshowntoreducethesymptomsofJapanesecedarpollinosis,[17]whileotherstrainshave
beenshowntoreducethesymptomsofinfluenzainfectionandfeverinelderlypersons.[18]Aswell,theuse
ofB.longumwasshowntoshortenthedurationandminimizetheseverityofsymptomsassociatedwiththe
commoncoldwithasimilareffecttothatofneuraminidaseinhibitorsforinfluenza.[19]

Sensitiveskintreatment
Whenappliedtopically,B.longumlysatewasshowntoprovideanantiinflammatoryeffect,preventing
problemsassociatedwithskinsensitivityandreinforcingskinbarrierfunction.[20]

Pancreaticnecrosis
Pancreaticnecrosisifleftuntreatedhasanalmost100percentfatalityrateduetobacterialtranslocation.
Bifidobacteriumlongumsubspeciesinfantishasbeenfoundtohaveawidespectrumofcoverageagainst
pathogenicorganismsthattranslocatefromthegastrointestinaltracttherebydemonstratingtherapeutic
benefitinthemanagementofpancreaticnecrosis.Theadditionofotherprobioticstrainsreducespro
inflammatorycytokinesandfurthersuppressedbacterialovergrowthinthesmallintestineleadingtoa
reductioninbacterialtranslocation.[21]

References
1. Schell,M.A.Karmirantzou,M.Snel,B.Vilanova,D.Berger,B.Pessi,G.Zwahlen,M.C.Desiere,F.
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Bork,P.Delley,M.Pridmore,R.D.Arigoni,F.(2002)."ThegenomesequenceofBifidobacteriumlongum
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2. Garrido,D.RuizMoyano,S.JimenezEspinoza,R.Eom,H.J.Block,D.E.Mills,D.A.(2013)."Utilization
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(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3593662).FoodMicrobiology33(2):262270.
doi:10.1016/j.fm.2012.10.003(https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.fm.2012.10.003).PMC3593662
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(NationalInstituteofGeneticEngineeringandBiotechnology)9(3):173179.
4. Yuan,J.Zhu,L.Liu,X.Li,T.Zhang,Y.Ying,T.Wang,B.Wang,J.Dong,H.Feng,E.Li,Q.Wang,
J.Wang,H.Wei,K.Zhang,X.Huang,C.Huang,P.Huang,L.Zeng,M.Wang,H.(2006)."AProteome
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5. Yazawa,K.Fujimori,M.Amano,J.Kano,Y.Taniguchi,S.I.(2000)."Bifidobacteriumlongumasadelivery
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FurtherReading
Taniguchi,ShunichiroFujimori,MinoruSasaki,TakayukiTsutsui,HirokoShimatani,YukoSeki,
KeiichiAmano,Jun(May22,2010)."Targetingsolidtumorswithnonpathogenicobligateanaerobic
bacteria".Cancerscience(2010)101(9):19251932.doi:10.1111/j.13497006.2010.01628.x
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.13497006.2010.01628.x).

Externallinks
Discoveryof"probiotictransporters"unlockssecretsofinfectionpreventivebifidobacteria
(www.riken.jp)(http://www.riken.jp/en/pr/press/2011/20110127_2/)
Freshfoodcouldlastforyears.(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/8700622/Freshfood
couldlastforyears.html)
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