Interaction of Candida albicans with human gut epithelium in the presence of Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs)

Candida albicans is a semi-ubiquitous pathobiont that is known to significantly impact human health and wellbeing, causing a significant financial strain on the medical system. Due to increasing antifungal resistance, there is a growing need for novel fungal therapeutics to treat diseases caused by this fungus. The development and use of Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs) is an innovative and novel approach to potentially treating Candidiasis and other comorbidities associated with C. albicans infection. To evaluate their anti-pathogenic efficacy, it is necessary to understand the underlying mechanisms involved, via the use of biomimetic cell models. In this study, six LBPs were chosen to investigate their competitive inhibitory effect against C. albicans using a co-culture of Caco-2 cells and mucous-secreting HT29-MTX cells to mimic human gut epithelium. The LBP strains were supplied by Servatus Biopharmaceuticals and identified as SVT 01D1, SVT 04P1, SVT 05P2, SVT 06B1, SVT 07R1 and SVT 08Z1. Five out of the six LBPs showed a significant reduction in the adhesion of C. albicans and all six LBPs reduced C. albicans invasion in the co-culture cells to varying degrees. There was no significant difference between co-inoculation of C. albicans with the LBPs or pre-inoculation of LBPs before the addition of C. albicans. The potential of these LBPs as novel anti-fungal therapeutics for the treatment of C. albicans diseases can be further documented in clinical trials.