Improved adhesion and function of Pediococcus pentosaceus Li05 for acute colitis through surface modiﬁcation

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Connor

Probiotics are widely explored as adjuvant therapy, yet their efficacy depends on adhesion and colonization within the gastrointestinal tract. Pediococcus pentosaceus Li05 shows anti-inflammatory potential, but limited mucoadhesive ability restricts further use. This study conjugates an anti-MUC2 antibody to Li05 to form M-Li05. In vitro assays show markedly improved adhesion and colonization resistance, and mouse competition experiments demonstrate stronger outcompeting of Citrobacter rodentium.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Background and rationale

Limitations of Pediococcus pentosaceus Li05

Role of mucosal adhesion and MUC2

Surface modification strategy

Conjugating MUC2 antibody to Li05

Expected benefits of M-Li05

Experimental evaluation

In vitro adhesion and colonization resistance

Mouse infection models for acute colitis

Outcomes and implications

npj | science of food Article | Published in partnership with Beijing Technology and Business University & International Union of Food Science and Technology | | | | --- | --- | --- | | [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-025-00652-z](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-025-00652-z) | | | | Improved adhesion and function of Pediococcus pentosaceus Li05 for acute colitis through surface modiﬁcation
Check for updates | | | | Shengyi Han1,2,7, Kaicen Wang1,7, Kunkai Su3, Xiangmin Dong1, Yilun Huang4, Yanmeng Lu1,
Shuobo Zhang1, Bo Qiu1, Yating Li1, Hang Xiao5, David McClements5, Björn Berglund6, Mingfei Yao1,3 & Lanjuan Li1,3 | | | | Probiotics have been widely used as an adjuvant therapy to treat or prevent various diseases. However, therapeutic effect is usually contingent on the ability of the probiotic cells to adhere to and colonize the gastrointestinal tract. Pediococcus pentosaceus Li05 has previously been shown antiinﬂammatory effect, however, its mucoadhesive ability limited further application. In this study, MUC2 antibody was used as an adhesin and conjugated to the surface of Li05 (M-Li05) and our results demonstrated that the adhesion and colonization resistance were signiﬁcantly improved in vitro. Moreover, competitive adhesion experiments in mice demonstrated that Li05 outcompeted Citrobacter rodentium; an effect even more pronounced with M-Li05 . The study also showed that M-Li05 signiﬁcantly reduced colonic histological injury, alleviated inﬂammation and decreased pathogens colonization in the C. rodentium-infected and DSS-induced colitis mouse model. In summary, the results demonstrated that M-Li05 showed promise for future application as a therapeutic strategy for colitis. | | | | Inﬂammatorybowel disease(IBD)is a group ofdiseases including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), characterized by chronic inﬂammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract1. Many factors including diet, genetics, host immunity, and intestinal microbiome, are involved in the development of IBD2–5. The composition of the gut microbiota of patients with IBD differs markedly from that of healthy individuals6,7. Many studies have shown that IBD patients demonstrated a reduced diversity of their gut microbiota, with the lack of diversity among Firmicutes being especially notable1.
Probiotics are deﬁned as “live microorganisms that, when given insufﬁcient amounts, provide health beneﬁts to the host”8. Many reports have demonstrated the anti-inﬂammation efﬁcacy of various probiotic bacteria for IBD in clinical trials and animal experiments9–12. The probiotic strain Pediococcus pentosaceus Li05 can strengthen the intestinal epithelial barrier function, modulate host immunity and gut microbiota in Clostridiodies difﬁcile infected colitis, dextrate sulfate sodium (DSS) -induced colitis and CCl4-induced cirrhosis13–15. However, the | application of Li05 is limited due to the strain’s susceptibility to harsh conditions exacerbated by chemical, physical, and biological factors during its transmission through the gastrointestinal tract, and poor adhesion to the intestinal mucosa15, 16.
We have previously successfully enhanced the viability of Li05 in harsh conditions through encapsulating Li05 in microcapsules15, but its adhesion in the colon remains to be improved. Successful colonization in the intestine is a necessary criterion for evaluating whether probiotics can have a long-term effect17. Mucosal adhesion is considered a critical step in probiotic colonization which is achieved by stable binding of the probiotic cells to the mucus through speciﬁc interactions between adhesins and complementary receptors18, like mucin 2 (MUC2), a predominant component of the intestinal mucosa19. One way to enhance the adhesive ability of the probiotic to the mucosa is by directly increasing the amount of adhesins on the bacterial surface. Synthetic adhesins in the form of antibodies (antiMUC2) (aMUC2) can be conjugated to the probio

FAQs

Why is adhesion important for probiotic therapy?

Therapeutic effects rely on probiotic cells adhering to and colonizing the gastrointestinal tract. Without strong adhesion, long-term benefit is limited.

How was Pediococcus pentosaceus Li05 modified to improve adhesion?

MUC2 antibody was used as an adhesin and conjugated to the surface of Li05, generating M-Li05 to promote binding to mucin 2.

What improvements did M-Li05 show in acute colitis models?

M-Li05 significantly reduced colonic histological injury, alleviated inflammation, and decreased pathogen colonization in the C. rodentium-infected and DSS-induced colitis mouse model.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Connor