Abstract
Bifidobacteria are common inhabitants of the human gastrointestinal tract that, despite a long history of research, have not shown any pathogenic potential whatsoever. By contrast, some bifidobacteria are associated with a number of health-related benefits for the host. The reported beneficial effects of bifidobacteria include competitive exclusion of pathogens, alleviation of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease, and modulation of intestinal and systemic immune responses. Based on these effects, bifidobacteria are widely used as probiotics by pharmaceutical and dairy industries. In order to exert a beneficial effect bifidobacteria have to, at least transiently, colonize the host in a sufficient population size. Besides other criteria such as resistance to manufacturing processes and intestinal transit, potential probiotic bacteria are tested for adhesion to the host structures including intestinal epithelial cells, mucus, and extracellular matrix components. In the present review article, we summarize the current knowledge on bifidobacterial structures that mediate adhesion to host tissue and compare these to similar structures of pathogenic bacteria. This reveals that most of the adhesive structures and mechanisms involved in adhesion of bifidobacteria to host tissue are similar or even identical to those employed by pathogens to cause disease. It is thus reasonable to assume that these structures and mechanisms are equally important for commensal or probiotic bacteria and play a similar role in the beneficial effects exerted by bifidobacteria.