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Background   Lactobacillus  spp. dominating the vaginal microbiota of healthy women contribute to the prevention of urogenital and sexually transmitted infections. Their protective role in the vagina can be mediated by  Lactobacillus  cells themselves, metabolites or bacterial components, able to interfere with pathogen adhesion and infectivity. Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common genital infection, caused by the overgrowth of opportunistic  Candida  spp. including  C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei  and  C. tropicalis . Azole antifungal drugs are not always efficient in resolving VVC and preventing recurrent infections, thus alternative anti- Candida  agents based on vaginal probiotics have gained more importance. The present work aims to chemically characterize the biosurfactant (BS) isolated from a vaginal  Lactobacillus crispatus  strain,  L. crispatus  BC1, and to investigate its safety and antiadhesive/antimicrobial activity against  Candida  spp., employing in vitro and in vivo assays.    Results  BS isolated from vaginal  L. crispatus  BC1 was characterised as non-homogeneous lipopeptide molecules with a critical micellar concentration value of 2 mg/mL, and good emulsification and mucoadhesive properties. At 1.25 mg/mL, the BS was not cytotoxic and reduced  Candida  strains’ ability to adhere to human cervical epithelial cells, mainly by exclusion mechanism. Moreover, intravaginal (i.va.) inoculation of BS in a murine experimental model was safe and did not perturb vaginal cytology, histology and cultivable vaginal microbiota. In the case of i.va. challenge of mice with  C. albicans , BS was able to reduce leukocyte influx.    Conclusions  These results indicate that BS from vaginal  L. crispatus  BC1 is able to interfere with  Candida  adhesion in vitro and in vivo, and suggest its potential as a preventive agent to reduce mucosal damage occasioned by  Candida  during VVC.

Biosurfactant from vaginal Lactobacillus crispatus BC1 as a promising agent to interfere with Candida adhesion