Some strains are commercially available as a probiotic that can be used by premenopausal and postmenopausal women that experience recurrent urinary tract infections.[3][4] For example, one strain CTV-05 is being evaluated specifically for the prevention and treatment of bacterial vaginosis,[5] which is characterized by overgrowth of other bacteria, potentially as a result of the absence of Lactobacillus flora that can serve to protect the host from infection.[6]
History
The species name derives from Latincrispatus, meaning "curled", referring to the shape of the bacteria.[7]L. crispatus was first isolated in 1953 by Brygoo and Aladame, who proposed it as a new species of the genus Eubacterium.[8] In the 1970s the type strain VPI 3199 (ATCC 33820) of L. crispatus (at the time still designated "Eubacterium crispatum") was deposited in the collection of the Anaerobe Laboratory, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI), where it was identified as a Lactobacillus[9] and characterized[10] by Moore and Holdeman.
Addressing the problem of genetic heterogeneity among a vast number of strains identified as L. acidophilus based on phenotypic similarity, Johnson et al. performed DNA homology experiments on 89 previously proposed L. acidophilus strains and delineated six distinct homology groups.[11] Only the strains pertaining to DNA homology group A1 were still designated L. acidophilus. Strains in the homology groups A2, A3, A4, B1 and B2 were proposed to be distinct species[11] and later reclassified as L. crispatus, L. amylovorus, L. gallinarum, L. gasseri and L. johnsonii respectively.[12] In the case of L. crispatus this happened in 1983 as Cato and her coworkers recharacterized strain VPI 3199 and discovered 100% DNA homology with VPI 7635 (ATCC 33197), the type strain of "L. acidophilus" group A2.[13]
Even within L. crispatus there is substantial genetic variation: strains of L. crispatus have genome sizes ranging from 1.83 to 2.7 Mb, and encode 1,839 (EM-LC1) to 2,688 (FB077-07) proteins.[16]
The genome of Lactobacillus crispatus strain ST1, which colonizes chicken, consists of about 2,043,161 nucleotides[14] and encodes 2,024 proteins,[14] 76 RNA genes[14] and has a circular chromosomal shape.[14]
Ecology
Lactobacillus crispatus is a normal inhabitant of the lower reproductive tract in healthy women.[17][18] Functionally, like other lactic acid-producing bacteria, it may prevent infections through production of lactic acid, thereby lowering the pH.[19]Condom use was correlated with increased colonization of Lactobacillus crispatus in the vagina.[20]
The strain of Lactobacillus crispastus was originally isolated from a pouch in a chicken gullet[14] and is considered to be one of the strongest H2O2-producing lactobacilli. Like many other Lactobacillus species, it can be severely altered by changes to the immune system, hormone levels and from the use of antimicrobials.
CTV-05 gelatin suppository capsules (LACTIN-V)[5] are inserted into the vagina as a probiotic that can help maintain healthy flora. Studies have shown that L. crispastus CTV-05 effectively colonized the vagina and helped prevent and treat recurrent bacterial vaginosis and other genital infections. Scientists have stated that evidence from clinical trials suggests that these probiotics will safely and effectively treat bacterial vaginosis if used alone or alongside an antibiotic treatment if an infection had already arisen.[4][21]
^Ravel, J; Gajer, P; Abdo, Z; Schneider, GM; Koenig, SS; McCulle, SL; Karlebach, S; Gorle, R; Russell, J; Tacket, CO; Brotman, RM; Davis, CC; Ault, K; Peralta, L; Forney, LJ (15 March 2011). "Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 Suppl 1 (Suppl 1): 4680–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.1002611107. PMC3063603. PMID20534435.
^Brygoo, E. R.; Aladame, N. (1953). "Étude d'une espèce nouvelle anaérobie stricte du genre Eubacterium: E. crispatum n. sp" [Study of a new strictly anaerobic species of the genus Eubacterium: Eubacterium crispatum n. sp.]. Annales de l'Institut Pasteur (in French). 84 (3): 640–641. PMID13124957.
^Moore, W. E. C.; Holdeman, L. V. (1970). "Propionibacterium, Arachnia, Actinomyces, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium". In Cato, E. P.; Cummins, C. S.; Holdeman, L. V.; Johnson, J. L.; Moore, W. E. C.; Smibert, R. M.; Smith, L. D. S. (eds.). Outline of Clinical Methods in Anaerobic Bacteriology (2nd ed.). Blacksburg: Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Anaerobe Laboratory. pp. 15–21.
^Holdeman, L. V.; Cato, E. P.; Moore, W. E. C. (1977). Anaerobe Laboratory Manual (4th ed.). Blacksburg: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. pp. 1–156.
^Du Plessis, E. M.; Dicks, L. M. T. (1995). "Evaluation of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR as a method to differentiate Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus amylovorus, Lactobacillus gallinarum, Lactobacillus gasseri, and Lactobacillus johnsonii". Current Microbiology. 31 (2): 114–118. doi:10.1007/BF00294286. PMID7606186. S2CID25714596.
^Nardis C, Mosca L, Mastromarino P (September 2013). "Vaginal microbiota and viral sexually transmitted diseases". Annali di Igiene. 25 (5): 443–56. doi:10.7416/ai.2013.1946. PMID24048183.
^Bennett J (2015). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious diseases. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders. ISBN978-1-4557-4801-3.
