Significance of bile salt hydrolytic activities of lactobacilli

Bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity was shown to be constitutive and substrate-specific: the BSH isogenic Lactobacillus plantarum wild type (LP80 WT) and BSH overproducing LP80 (pCBH1) strains preferentially hydrolysed glycodeoxycholic acid (GDCA), whereas the hamster Lact. animalis isolates H362 and H364 showed a higher affinity for taurodeoxycholic acid (TDCA). In viability studies in the presence of nutrients, it was demonstrated that GDCA exerted a higher toxicity than TDCA in a pH-dependent manner. This toxicity was inversely proportionate to the BSH activity level of the strains tested, indicating that BSH activity contributed towards bile salt resistance when appropriate nutrients were available. The high toxicity of GDCA relative to TDCA was suggested to be caused by their weak and strong acid properties respectively. It was therefore hypothesized that the protonated form of bile salts exhibited toxicity as it imported protons in the cell. This puts an energy-burden on BSH- lactobacilli which undergo intracellular acidification. BSH+ cells primarily protect themselves through the formation of the weaker DCA compound, which can help negate the pH-drop by recapturing and exporting the co-transported proton. However, since DCA is more toxic than its conjugated counterparts, an additional energy-dependent detoxification of DCA is suggested.