Identification of a Peptide Produced by Bifidobacterium longum CECT 7210 with Antirotaviral Activity

Chenoll, Empar; Casinos, Beatriz; Bataller, Esther; Buesa, Javier; Ramón, Daniel; Genovés, Salvador; Fábrega, Joan; Rivero Urgell, Montserrat; Moreno Muñoz, José A.

During the last few years, research has focused on the potential use of probiotics as preventive agents against rotavirus. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) define probiotics as "live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host" (FAO/WHO, 2001) . These microorganisms are demonstrated to be effective in preventing several disorders such as infections, diarrhea, and inflammatory diseases (Reid, 2008; Kotzampassi and Giamarellos-Bourboulis, 2012) . Moreover, probiotics affect the modulation and establishment of intestinal microbiota and enhance maturation of the innate and adaptive immune systems among others (Kotzampassi and Giamarellos-Bourboulis, 2012) . Regarding the efficacy of these microorganisms in treating rotavirus-related diarrhea, a number of probiotics have been reported including Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus acidophilus strains (Lee et al., 2014) and commercial probiotic strains such as Lactobacillus GG (Sindhu et al., 2014) . Nevertheless, most of these reports are based on the amelioration of diarrhea symptoms but little has been published on the identification of the mechanisms and molecules underlying rotavirus inhibition. In this respect, current ideas regarding these mechanisms of action include changes in gut ecology, an effect on the gut mucosal barrier, and a modulation of the immune response (Kotzampassi and Giamarellos-Bourboulis, 2012) , each being strain-specific (Oelschlaeger, 2010) .