An Optimized Fluorometric Method to Test the Capacities of Cranberry Polyphenols and Metabolites to Inhibit the Adhesion of Type-P and Type-1 Fimbriated Uropathogenic E. coli
Abstract Objectives Adhesion of type-P and type-1 fimbriated uropathogenic E. coli to urinary tract epithelial cells initiates urinary tract infections. This research aimed to optimize and apply a fluorometric method to evaluate the capacities of cranberry polyphenols and metabolites to inhibit such adhesion in vitro. Methods BacLight Green labelled E. coli were incubated with cranberry polyphenols or microbial metabolites of cranberry polyphenols for 30 min at 37°C. Mixture was added to a 96-well microplate containing 1 × 105/well of human uroepithelial T24 cells and incubated for 1 h at 37°C. After incubation, E. coli not adhered were removed by phosphate buffer washing. Fluorescent intensity was measured on a microplate reader at 480 nm excitation and 516 nm emission. Results Stable and strong fluorescent readings were obtained with 800 μmol/L BacLight Green for E. coli labeling and an E. coli to T24 cells ratio of 400:1 for co-incubation. A standard curve was established using 0–63 μM myricetin. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of myricetin were 13.2 μM against type-P E. coli adhesion and 5.5 μM against type-1 E. coli adhesion. A fraction enriched with procyanidin polymers had IC50 of 57.6 μg/mL against type-P E. coli and 19.3 μg/mL against type-1 E. coli, respectively. Its anti-adhesion activities were more potent than those of cranberry fractions enriched with procyanidin oligomers, flavonols, or anthocyanin. Procyanidin A2 had a maximal inhibition about 35% at 17.3 μM against type-P E. coli, but no anti-adhesion activity was observed against type-1 E. coli. Procyanidin B2 showed a plateaued inhibition about 15% at 173–691 μM against type-P E. coli. Its maximal inhibition against type-1 E. coli was around 25% at 346 μM. Hippuric acid, a major metabolite of cranberry polyphenols, had a maximal inhibition about 20% at 558 μM against type-1 E. coli adhesion, whereas its anti-adhesion activity against type-P E. coli was not detected. Conclusions The optimized fluorometric method showed that both structure and composition of cranberry polyphenols and metabolites affected their abilities to inhibit E. coli adhesion in vitro. Anti-adhesion activities of cranberry polyphenols also depend on type of E. coli fimbriae. Funding Sources University of Florida Research Foundation Seed Fund.