Lactobacillus plantarum Extracellular Chitin-Binding Protein and Its Role in the Interaction between Chitin, Caco-2 Cells, and Mucin

In the present work, we describe the adhesion capabilities of a recombinant Lactococcus lactis strain producing an extracellular protein from Lactobacillus plantarum. Our results show that this protein may offer the bacterium a mechanism to bind to N-acetylglucosamine-containing polymers, such as human mucins, present in different environments.