Lactic acid bacterial symbionts from the honeybee: Characteristics and applications in wound management
(2015) In Lund University Faculty of Medicine Doctoral Dissertation Series 2015:130.- Abstract
- Antibiotic resistance is now a large threat with worldwide agreement that we will fall into a post-antibiotic era unless there is suitable treatment alternatives discovered. In recent years, chronic wounds have become a major burden on society and treatment is complicated. Honey has been widely used as a topical treatment for wounds yet there is much discourse between studies examining its effect and still some of its antimicrobial effect has not been characterized. In this thesis we investigate some characteristics of 13 novel Lactic acid bacterial (LAB) symbionts originating from the honey stomach of the western honeybee. The LABs involvement in honey production and their antimicrobial action against many environmental bacteria and... (More)
- Antibiotic resistance is now a large threat with worldwide agreement that we will fall into a post-antibiotic era unless there is suitable treatment alternatives discovered. In recent years, chronic wounds have become a major burden on society and treatment is complicated. Honey has been widely used as a topical treatment for wounds yet there is much discourse between studies examining its effect and still some of its antimicrobial effect has not been characterized. In this thesis we investigate some characteristics of 13 novel Lactic acid bacterial (LAB) symbionts originating from the honey stomach of the western honeybee. The LABs involvement in honey production and their antimicrobial action against many environmental bacteria and yeasts hypothesizes that these LAB symbionts may be a good alternative to antibiotics for the topical treatment of chronic wounds.
First we investigated the effect of stress on the extracellular protein production of all 13 LAB separately. We revealed that this extracellular production varied between species and genera, and that different microbial stressors had varying effects. These putative proteins may have links with the LAB survival in their niche possibly in attachment or as antimicrobials. Secondly, we investigated some characteristics of the LAB and discovered a link between the therapeutic effect of honey and these symbionts. We identified a myriad of bioactive substances that the LAB produce and had broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against human pathogens including antibiotic resistant species. The effect varied between species, but all 13 LAB combined were the most effective. Finally we investigated the antimicrobial effect the LAB symbionts had together in a standardized concentration with heather honey, in vitro against human and animal pathogens, and in vivo in two pilot studies. We showed once again the LAB formulation had broad-spectrum activity when combined. When applied to chronic wounds on horses and finally on humans, we saw in both cases remarkable results towards wound healing. Bacterial diversity was also investigated and we observed that the wounds were polymicrobial in nature and bacterial diversity varied between subjects, but there were a number of genera that are readily identified throughout the majority of samples. This thesis studies the hypothesis of a novel LAB microbiota as an alternative tool in wound management and provides knowledge about these symbionts’ therapeutic and antimicrobial characteristics in vitro and in vivo. It contributes to an understanding of how interdisciplinary research can proceed starting from basic knowledge to medical applications. In conclusion, further work, including more in vitro experiments and controlled clinical trials, could in a future perspective establish these LAB symbionts as an alternative to antibiotics in wound treatment, and possibly other infections. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Det senaste decenniet har resistansen mot antibiotika ökat enormt och visat sig vara ett stort problem för många människor runt om hela världen. Överanvändning av antibiotika i maten, jordbruket och den farmaceutiska industrin har resulterat i en epidemi av infektioner som är resistenta mot nuvarande antibiotika och blir allt svårare att behandla. I och med att människor idag lever längre än någonsin är detta ett högst akut problem hos folk med kroniska sår, men även för människor med diabetes och övervikt.
Att hitta en behandling för patienter med kroniska sår som är bra för miljön och enkel att använda, men som även är motståndskraftig mot att utveckla resistens, har blivit ett... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Det senaste decenniet har resistansen mot antibiotika ökat enormt och visat sig vara ett stort problem för många människor runt om hela världen. Överanvändning av antibiotika i maten, jordbruket och den farmaceutiska industrin har resulterat i en epidemi av infektioner som är resistenta mot nuvarande antibiotika och blir allt svårare att behandla. I och med att människor idag lever längre än någonsin är detta ett högst akut problem hos folk med kroniska sår, men även för människor med diabetes och övervikt.
Att hitta en behandling för patienter med kroniska sår som är bra för miljön och enkel att använda, men som även är motståndskraftig mot att utveckla resistens, har blivit ett väldigt viktigt forskningsområde som gjort att många forskare återbesöker historiska behandlingar, som t.ex. honung.
En grupp av 13 mjölksyrabakterier (lactic acid bacteria (LAB)) upptäcktes i honungsmagen hos honungsbin. Dessa är involverad i bland annat honungsproduktionen, men har även en viktig roll att skydda bin från hot såsom mikrober. Denna grupp av bakterier producerar en mängd olika substanser som har många olika funktioner, inklusive att döda skadande bakterier som honungsbina kommer i kontakt med när de samlar nektar. I detta projekt undersökte vi om dessa mjölksyrabakterier producerade bioaktiva substanser och proteiner som kunde länka bakterierna med de helande och antimikrobiella egenskaperna som har hittats i honung. Projektet undersökte också ifall dessa mjölksyrebakterier skulle kunna användas som en aktuell behandlings alternativt för människor och djur som lider av kroniska sår.
Vi upptäckte att mjölksyrabakterierna producerar en rad olika substanser samt har en bred mängd av antimikrobiella egenskaper som när i användning i kombination med steriliserade ljung honung har enastående effekter på den helande processen av människor och djur som lider av kroniska sår medan behandlingen inte orsakade någon sveda eller värk. Vi fann även att det finns många olika sorter bakterier i dessa kroniska sår precis som andra forskare har gjort tidigare.
Detta projekt, i sin helhet, tar oss närmre upplösningen av mysterierna kring dessa mjölksyrabakterie symbioter, deras skyddande och antimikrobiella egenskaper, samt tar oss närmare en framtid där de kan användas inom sårbehandling. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8170632
- author
- Butler, Éile LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Vandamme, Peter, University of Ghent
- organization
- publishing date
- 2015
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- wound management, honey, extracellular proteins, bioactive substances, honeybee, Lactic acid bacteria
- in
- Lund University Faculty of Medicine Doctoral Dissertation Series
- volume
- 2015:130
- pages
- 96 pages
- publisher
- Division of Medical Microbiology, Lund University
- defense location
- Lecture Hall, Medicon Village, Lund
- defense date
- 2015-12-04 08:30:00
- ISSN
- 1652-8220
- ISBN
- 978-91-7619-210-8
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- bf695319-cae4-45d9-b138-57296c7ab65c (old id 8170632)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 15:04:45
- date last changed
- 2019-05-21 21:37:46
@phdthesis{bf695319-cae4-45d9-b138-57296c7ab65c,
abstract = {{Antibiotic resistance is now a large threat with worldwide agreement that we will fall into a post-antibiotic era unless there is suitable treatment alternatives discovered. In recent years, chronic wounds have become a major burden on society and treatment is complicated. Honey has been widely used as a topical treatment for wounds yet there is much discourse between studies examining its effect and still some of its antimicrobial effect has not been characterized. In this thesis we investigate some characteristics of 13 novel Lactic acid bacterial (LAB) symbionts originating from the honey stomach of the western honeybee. The LABs involvement in honey production and their antimicrobial action against many environmental bacteria and yeasts hypothesizes that these LAB symbionts may be a good alternative to antibiotics for the topical treatment of chronic wounds. <br/><br>
First we investigated the effect of stress on the extracellular protein production of all 13 LAB separately. We revealed that this extracellular production varied between species and genera, and that different microbial stressors had varying effects. These putative proteins may have links with the LAB survival in their niche possibly in attachment or as antimicrobials. Secondly, we investigated some characteristics of the LAB and discovered a link between the therapeutic effect of honey and these symbionts. We identified a myriad of bioactive substances that the LAB produce and had broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against human pathogens including antibiotic resistant species. The effect varied between species, but all 13 LAB combined were the most effective. Finally we investigated the antimicrobial effect the LAB symbionts had together in a standardized concentration with heather honey, in vitro against human and animal pathogens, and in vivo in two pilot studies. We showed once again the LAB formulation had broad-spectrum activity when combined. When applied to chronic wounds on horses and finally on humans, we saw in both cases remarkable results towards wound healing. Bacterial diversity was also investigated and we observed that the wounds were polymicrobial in nature and bacterial diversity varied between subjects, but there were a number of genera that are readily identified throughout the majority of samples. This thesis studies the hypothesis of a novel LAB microbiota as an alternative tool in wound management and provides knowledge about these symbionts’ therapeutic and antimicrobial characteristics in vitro and in vivo. It contributes to an understanding of how interdisciplinary research can proceed starting from basic knowledge to medical applications. In conclusion, further work, including more in vitro experiments and controlled clinical trials, could in a future perspective establish these LAB symbionts as an alternative to antibiotics in wound treatment, and possibly other infections.}},
author = {{Butler, Éile}},
isbn = {{978-91-7619-210-8}},
issn = {{1652-8220}},
keywords = {{wound management; honey; extracellular proteins; bioactive substances; honeybee; Lactic acid bacteria}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Division of Medical Microbiology, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund University Faculty of Medicine Doctoral Dissertation Series}},
title = {{Lactic acid bacterial symbionts from the honeybee: Characteristics and applications in wound management}},
volume = {{2015:130}},
year = {{2015}},
}