Caseinoglycomacropeptide Inhibits Adhesion of Pathogenic Escherichia coli Strains to Human Cells in Culture

Abstract Caseinoglycomacropeptide (CGMP) derived from κ-casein was investigated for its ability to inhibit the adhesion of 3 strains of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) and 3 strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) to human HT29 tissue cell cultures. Effects on adhesion of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans , Lactobacillus pentosus , Lactobacillus casei , Lactobacillus acidophilus , and Lactobacillus gasseri were also investigated. Generally, CGMP exerted effective anti-adhesive properties at a dose of 2.5 mg/mL, albeit with a high degree of strain specificity. The CGMP reduced adhesion of VTEC strains to L. pentosus and L. casei to 44 and 42%, respectively. A slight but significant reduction of L. acidophilus , to 81%, was observed, but no significant effects were detected with either Dsv. desulfuricans or L. gasseri . Further investigation of the dose response relationships with the E. coli strains gave IC50 values ranging between 0.12 and 1.06 mg/mL.