Probiotic bacterial molecules and their use in methods to treat/prevent infection by harmful bacteria and to provide nutritional health

Abstract

This invention provides isolated and characterized secreted molecules from probiotic bacteria for use in compositions and methods for the treatment and/or prevention of infection by harmful pathogenic bacteria. The isolated secreted molecules can also be used in nutritional or medical food products which provide probiotics to the gastrointestinal tract of a mammal.

1 . A composition comprising isolated secreted molecules from probiotic bacteria that prevent and/or treat enteric bacterial infection in mammals, wherein said probiotic bacteria is selected from  Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Bifidobacterium  and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein said  Lactobacillus  is selected from  Lactobacillus acidophilus  (La-5),  Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus,  and  Lactococcus Lactis,  and wherein said  Bifidobacterium  is selected from  Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium infantis  and  Biidobacterium crudilactis  and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein said  Streptococcus  is  Streptococcus thermophilus.    
     
     
         7 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein said composition is effective against  Salmonella  and/or  Escherichia coli  colonization. 
     
     
         8 . The composition of  claim 7 , wherein said  Salmonella  is strain  Salmonella enterica  and said  Escherichia coli  is EHEC 0157:H7. 
     
     
         9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . The composition of  claim 1 , further combined with an edible food product, nutritional supplement, ingestible liquid, one or more strains of whole probiotic bacteria and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein said secreted molecule is from  Lactobacillus acidophilus.    
     
     
         13 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein said secreted molecule comprises a sequence selected from YPVEPF, YPPGGP, YPPG, NQPY and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The composition of  claim 1  further comprising a sugar source and/or one or more antibiotics. 
     
     
         15 . The composition of  claim 14 , wherein the sugar source is glucose. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein said composition is provided as a lyophilized culture fraction. 
     
     
         18 . Probiotic bacteria molecules, said molecules comprising a sequence selected from YPVEPF, YPPGGP, YPPG, NQPY and combinations thereof, wherein said molecules are for treatment and prevention of enteric bacterial infection in mammals in vivo. 
     
     
         19 . The molecules of  claim 18 , wherein said molecules are isolated from  Lactobacillus acidophilus.    
     
     
         20 . The molecules of  claim 19 , wherein said molecules are combined with one or more of an antibiotic, a sugar source, an edible food product, a nutritional supplement and ingestible liquid. 
     
     
         21 . A probiotic bacterial isolated peptide fraction, said peptide fraction comprising secreted molecules from  Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Bifidobacterium  and combinations thereof treatment and prevention of enteric bacterial infection in mammals in vivo, wherein said secreted molecules have one or more of the following characteristics: are proteinaceous; low molecular weight; can withstand heating up to about 90° C., freezing, thawing, lyophilization spray drying and decrease virulence-related gene-expression. 
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . A food product, beverage product, health product, medicament or nutritional supplement that comprises a composition of  claim 1 , wherein said probiotic bacteria are selected from  Lactobacillus acidophilus  (La-5),  Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactococcus Lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium crudilactis,  and combinations thereof and further optionally comprising one or more strains of whole probiotic bacteria. 
     
     
         24 . The food product, beverage product, health product, medicament or nutritional supplement of  claim 23 , wherein said molecule comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of YPVEPF, YPPGGP, YPPG, NQPY and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         25 . A method for preventing and/or treating infections by  Escherichia coli  O157:H7 and/or  Salmonella  in a mammal the method comprising administering to said mammal an effective amount of a composition of  claim 1  and optionally an antibiotic. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein said secreted molecule comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of YPVEPF, YPPGGP, YPPG, NQPY and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         27 . (canceled) 
     
     
         28 . A method for preventing the carriage by a food production animal of Salmonella strains that cause human salmonellosis, said method comprising administering an effective amount of a composition of  claim 1  to the food production animal prior to exposure to  Salmonella  strains that cause human salmonellosis. 
     
     
         29 . A method of preventing colonization by harmful bacteria in a mammal, the method comprising administration of an effective amount of the molecules of  claim 18  to said mammal. 
     
     
         30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . (canceled) 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein said molecule inhibits the colonization of  E. coli  O157:H7 and/or  Salmonella.    
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein said method further comprises the administration of a probiotic bacterium, 
     
     
         34 . A method of making a composition of molecules from probiotic bacteria the method comprising:
 culturing for a time period under suitable conditions a probiotic bacteria selected from the group consisting of  Lactobacillus acidophilus  (La-5),  Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactococcus Lactis, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium crudilactis, Streptococcus thermophilus  and combinations thereof in a suitable culture medium; and   collecting said culture medium, wherein said composition has beneficial health effects in a mammal,   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein said secreted molecules are further isolated from said culture medium. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein said molecules comprise an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of YPVEPF, YPPGGP, YPPG, NQPY and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 35 , further comprising adding an antibiotic, sugar source, edible food product, supplement, ingestible liquid and combinations thereof to said composition.