The suppressive effect of bifidobacteria on Bacteroides vulgatus, a putative pathogenic microbe in inflammatory bowel disease

Bacteroides, a predominant commensal bacteria in the gut, are thought to be responsible for the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In the present study, we examined whether or not bifidobacteria suppress B. vulgatus, a representative pathogenic Bacteroides species, in both the coculture system and the gnotobiotic murine model. As a result, Bifidobacterium infantis 1222 highly inhibited the growth of B. vulgatus in the coculture and also significantly suppressed the systemic antibody response raised by B. vulgatus colonizing the gut in gnotobiotic mice. Colonization of the mice by B. vulgatus increased the number of Peyer's patch (PP) cells bearing PNA (peanut agglutinin)+/anti-κ+ phenotype, which represents plasma cell-like B cells. Moreover, treatment of those B. vulgatus-implanted mice with B. infantis 1222 abrogated such increase in the number of PNA+/anti-κ+ cells. These results thus suggested that B. infantis 1222 protected the gut epithelial layer including the PP from being invaded by Bacteroides, thereby suppressing the systemic antibody response raised by Bacteroides.