TNF-alpha modulates the dynamics of the plasminogen-mediated early interaction between Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and human enterocytes.

The capacity to intervene with the host plasminogen system has recently been considered an important component in the interaction process between Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and the human host. However, its significance in the bifidobacterial microecology within the human gastrointestinal tract is still an open question. Here we demonstrate that human plasminogen favors the B. animalis subsp. lactis BI07 adhesion to HT29 cells. Prompting the HT29 cell capacity to activate plasminogen, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) modulated the plasminogen-mediated bacterium-enterocyte interaction, reducing the bacterial adhesion to the enterocytes and enhancing migration to the luminal compartment.