Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Croix du Sud, 1, bte L7.04.01., B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
Micron. 2012 Dec;43(12):1323-30. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2012.01.001. Epub 2012 Jan 12.
Probiotic bacteria have a strong potential in biomedicine owing to their ability to induce various beneficial health effects. Bacterial cell surface constituents play a key role in establishing tight interactions between probiotics and their host. Yet, little is known about the spatial organization and biophysical properties of the individual molecules. In this paper, we discuss how we have been using atomic force microscopy imaging and force spectroscopy to probe the nanoscale surface properties of gram-positive lactic acid bacteria, with an emphasis on probiotic strains. Topographic imaging has enabled us to visualize bacterial cell surface structures (peptidoglycan, teichoic acids, pili, polysaccharides) under physiological conditions and with unprecedented resolution. In parallel, single-molecule force spectroscopy has been used to localize and force probe single cell surface constituents, providing novel insights into their spatial distribution and molecular elasticity.
由于益生菌具有诱导各种有益健康的作用，因此它们在生物医药领域具有很强的潜力。细菌表面成分在益生菌与其宿主之间建立紧密相互作用方面起着关键作用。然而，对于单个分子的空间组织和生物物理特性知之甚少。在本文中，我们讨论了如何使用原子力显微镜成像和力谱来探测革兰氏阳性乳酸菌的纳米级表面特性，重点是益生菌菌株。形貌成像使我们能够在生理条件下以空前的分辨率可视化细菌表面结构（肽聚糖、磷壁酸、菌毛、多糖）。与此同时，单分子力谱已被用于定位和力探测单个细胞表面成分，为它们的空间分布和分子弹性提供了新的见解。
