Organic Acids Secreted by Lactobacillus spp. Isolated from Urine and Their Antimicrobial Activity against Uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis

The natural microbiota of the urinary tract includes Lactobacillus spp., which secrete molecules with antimicrobial properties and have antagonistic activity against many pathogens. This paper focuses on the antibacterial effect of Lactobacillus strains isolated from urine against clinical strains of Proteus mirabilis isolated from kidney stones and from urine with coexisting urolithiasis. The study involved analyzing the main antimicrobial molecules secreted by Lactobacillus. In order to indicate which agent had the strongest antimicrobial effect, the supernatants were made alkaline and treated with catalase and high temperature. Both treated and untreated supernatants were analyzed for their activity. Exposing uropathogens to all untreated cell-free supernatants of Lactobacillus significantly reduced their growth, and it was established that these properties were related to organic acid secretion by these strains. Using LC-MS/MS and spectrophotometric techniques, lactic, citric, and succinic acids were determined qualitatively and quantitatively. The influence of these acids on the P. mirabilis growth and biofilm formation and their influence on membrane permeability were also investigated. The results indicate that organic acids secreted by Lactobacillus strains have a high antibacterial potential and could be used as novel agents in the treatment of urinary tract infections caused by P. mirabilis.