
f Listeria monocytogenes cells under nutrient deprivation showed reduced ability to infect the human intestinal cell line HT-29
- Authors: Vânia Araujo1 , Elsa Neves1,2 , Ana Carla Silva1 , António P. L. Martins3,4 , Luisa Castro Brito1
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1 1LEAF – Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food /DRAT- Departamento dos Recursos Naturais, Ambiente e Território, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, University of Lisbon, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal 2 2Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão Jean Piaget do Litoral Alentejano, Bairro das Flores, Apartado 38, 7500-999 Vila Nova de Santo André, Portugal 3 3Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, IP, Av. República, Quinta do Marquês, Nova Oeiras, 2784-505 Oeiras, Portugal 4 4DCEB – Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia de Biossistemas, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, University of Lisbon, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
- *Correspondence: Luisa Castro Brito [email protected]
- First Published Online: 29 November 2017, Journal of Medical Microbiology 67: 110-117, doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.000648
- Subject: Pathogenicity and Virulence/Host Response
- Received:
- Accepted:
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Listeria monocytogenes cells under nutrient deprivation showed reduced ability to infect the human intestinal cell line HT-29, Page 1 of 1
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Purpose. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of two types of stress, cold and nutritional, on the viability and the in vitro virulence of the foodborne pathogenic bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.
Methodology. Ten diverse isolates were kept in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at optimal (37 °C) or at refrigeration temperature (7 °C), for 1 and 7 days. The viability of the cells [log colony-forming units (c.f.u.)/ml] and their in vitro virulence, before and after storage in these conditions, were investigated. In vitro virulence (log PFA) was evaluated using the human intestinal epithelial cell line HT-29 in plaque-forming assays (PFAs).
Results/Key findings. In general, when compared with the conditions at 37 °C, the exposure at 7 °C for 7 days seemed to increase the resistance of the isolates to nutritional stress. Nutritional stress per se acted significantly to decrease the in vitro virulence of the isolates. After 7 days of nutrient deprivation, whether at optimal or at refrigeration temperature, the majority of the isolates assumed a low-virulence phenotype.
Conclusion. Our results suggest that when L. monocytogenes are in refrigerated post-processing environments that are unable to support their growth they may increase their resistance to nutritional stress and may decrease their virulence. This should be considered when performing risk assessments for refrigerated ready-to-eat (RTE) foods.
- Keyword(s): Listeria monocytogenes, viability, in vitro virulence, nutritional and cold stress, human intestinal epithelial cell line HT-29
© 2018 The Authors | Published by the Microbiology Society
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