The Discovery of Oropharyngeal Microbiota with Inhibitory Activity against Pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis: An In Vitro Study of Clinical Isolates

Elvis Achondou Akomoneh^{1

2}, Jolein Gyonne Elise Laumen^{1

3}, Saïd Abdellati⁴, Christophe Van Dijck¹, Thibau Vanbaelen¹, Xavier Basil Britto³, Sheeba S Manoharan-Basil¹, Chris Kenyon^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ HIV/STI Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium.
² Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Bamenda, Bambili P.O. Box 39, Cameroon.
³ Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
⁴ Clinical Reference Laboratory, Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium.
⁵ Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory 7700, South Africa.

PMID: 36557750
PMCID: PMC9787740
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10122497

The Discovery of Oropharyngeal Microbiota with Inhibitory Activity against Pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis: An In Vitro Study of Clinical Isolates

Elvis Achondou Akomoneh et al. Microorganisms. 2022.

. 2022 Dec 16;10(12):2497.

doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10122497.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ HIV/STI Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium.
² Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Bamenda, Bambili P.O. Box 39, Cameroon.
³ Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
⁴ Clinical Reference Laboratory, Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium.
⁵ Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory 7700, South Africa.

PMID: 36557750
PMCID: PMC9787740
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10122497

Abstract

With increasing incidence of pathogenic Neisseria infections coupled with emerging resistance to antimicrobials, alternative approaches to limit the spread are sought. We investigated the inhibitory effect of oropharyngeal microbiota on the growth of N. gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis and the impact of the essential oil-based mouthwash Listerine Cool Mint^® (Listerine). Oropharyngeal swabs from 64 men who have sex with men (n = 118) from a previous study (PReGo study) were analysed (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03881007). These included 64 baseline and 54 samples following three months of daily use of Listerine. Inhibition was confirmed by agar overlay assay, and inhibitory bacteria isolated using replica plating and identified using MALDI-TOF. The number of inhibitory isolates were compared before and after Listerine use. Thirty-one pharyngeal samples (26%) showed inhibitory activity against N. gonorrhoeae and/or N. meningitidis, and 62 inhibitory isolates were characterised. Fourteen species belonging to the genera Streptococci and Rothia were identified. More inhibitory isolates were observed following Listerine use compared to baseline, although this effect was not statistically significant (p = 0.073). This study isolated and identified inhibitory bacteria against pathogenic Neisseria spp. and established that daily Listerine use did not decrease their prevalence. These findings could provide a new approach for the prevention and treatment of pharyngeal Neisseria infections.

Keywords: Listerine mouthwash; Microbiome; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Neisseria meningitidis; colonisation resistance.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Agar overlay assay showing inhibitory activity by some isolates to *N. meningitidis* M00003/1: A, *Rothia dentocariosa* B, *Streptococcus mitis* and C, *Rothia dentocariosa*.

**Figure 2**
The number of isolates found to be inhibitory to two pathogenic *Neisseria* species.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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The Discovery of Oropharyngeal Microbiota with Inhibitory Activity against Pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis: An In Vitro Study of Clinical Isolates

Affiliations

The Discovery of Oropharyngeal Microbiota with Inhibitory Activity against Pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis: An In Vitro Study of Clinical Isolates

Authors

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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