Susceptibility of the anaerobic gram-negative non-sporulating rod, Bilophila wadsworthia to beta-lactams, beta-lactamase inhibitors, meropenem, metronidazole, clindamycin and quinolones

Development of an in vitro Model of Human Gut Microbiota for Screening the Reciprocal Interactions With Antibiotics, Drugs, and Xenobiotics

Altering the gut microbiota can negatively affect human health. Efforts may be sustained to predict the intended or unintended effects of molecules not naturally produced or expected to be present within the organism on the gut microbiota. Here, culture-dependent and DNA-based approaches were combined to UHPLC-MS/MS analyses in order to investigate the reciprocal interactions between a constructed Human Gut Microbiota Model (HGMM) and molecules including antibiotics, drugs, and xenobiotics. Our HGMM was composed of strains from the five phyla commonly described in human gut microbiota and belonging to Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Relevantly, the bacterial diversity was conserved in our constructed human gut model through subcultures. Uneven richness distribution was revealed and the sensitivity of the HGMM was mainly affected by antibiotic exposure rather than by drugs or xenobiotics. Interestingly, the constructed model and the individual cultured strains respond with the same sensitivity to the different molecules. UHPLC-MS/MS analyses revealed the disappearance of some native molecules in the supernatants of the HGMM as well as in those of the individual strains. These results suggest that biotransformation of molecules occurred in the presence of our gut microbiota model and the coupled approaches performed on the individual cultures may emphasize new bacterial strains active in these metabolic processes. From this study, the new HGMM appears as a simple, fast, stable, and inexpensive model for screening the reciprocal interactions between the intestinal microbiota and molecules of interest.

Comparison of effects of medium composition and atmospheric conditions on detection of Bilophila wadsworthia beta-lactamase by cefinase and cefinase plus methods

The influence of growth medium and incubation conditions on the detection of Bilophila wadsworthia beta-lactamase was tested with Cefinase and Cefinase Plus disks. The tests involved aerobic and anaerobic incubation with conventional disk and quantitative tube assays. The production of beta-lactamase was correlated with penicillin G, ampicillin, and ampicillin-sulbactam MICs and inhibition zones on penicillin (2-U) disks. The strains were grown on (i) brucella agar (brucella), (ii) brucella agar supplemented with 1% pyruvate (brucella-pyruvate), and (iii) brucella agar supplemented with 1% taurine (brucella-taurine). With the aerobic disk assay, 100, 100, and 7% of strains were positive after 30 min from growth on brucella-pyruvate, brucella, and brucella-taurine plates, respectively; of strains grown on brucella-taurine, 54% remained negative by the Cefinase assay, and 23% remained negative by the Cefinase Plus assay at 2 h. In quantitative assays, the strains became positive after 30 min from brucella-pyruvate plates and after 1 h from brucella plates. The intensities of the reactions were strongest with brucella-pyruvate plates under anaerobic test conditions. Anaerobic incubation enhanced beta-lactamase detection of growth on brucella-taurine: at 3 h, 85% of strains were positive in comparison to 38% with aerobic incubation. All beta-lactamase-negative strains were susceptible to penicillin G and ampicillin; all beta-lactamase-positive strains were resistant to ampicillin and, with the exception of two strains, penicillin G. In conclusion, beta-lactamase production correlated with susceptibility to penicillin G and ampicillin. Brucella agar supplemented with 1% pyruvate was the most reliable medium for testing B. wadsworthia beta-lactamase, and anaerobic incubation expedited positive results. Brucella agar supplemented with taurine was unsuitable for B. wadsworthia beta-lactamase testing. Cefinase and Cefinase Plus results were in agreement, but Cefinase Plus yielded faster reactions.