fig7

Figure 7. Effect of PolyFermS supernatant treatments on epithelial barrier, infection and inflammation in a Caco-2/HT29-MTX/THP-1 Blue cell co-culture model. Barrier integrity was assessed by TEER measurement after 24-h exposure to 20% of microbiota supernatant of (A) donor 4 and (B) donor 5. CFU of adhered and invaded ETEC and cell cytotoxicity were assessed by plating and LDH release, respectively, after 3 h of infection in the presence of 20% microbiota supernatant. NFκB activation in THP1-Blue cells was assessed after 21 h of further incubation following infection. Mean ± SD is shown, n = 3 independent cell passages. TEER: Transepithelial electrical resistance; CFU: colony forming units; ETEC: enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; NFκB: nuclear factor kappa B.