deleterious inammatory process [13]. Therefore, the contradictory facets of BT remain to be investigated. We previously developed an innovative BT extract (E) which inhibited superoxide anion in vitro. The method used 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl) dimethylammonio]-1 propanesulfonate (CHAPS), a derivative of cholic acid, that preserved the viability of the strictly anaerobic bacteria during an aerobic extraction, after culture under nutrient starvation on Brucella agar only supplemented by 0.5 mg L1 menadione. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was identied in the cell-free extract that exhibited a very strong inhibition of the O 2 produced in vitro in an acellular model [14]. This was consistent with Pan and Imlay studies [15]. Conversely, when BT was cultured on the above medium enriched with bile to enhance its growth, the consequent
extract exhibited a very different protein pattern, with no antioxidative
properties and the viability of BT was altered after
extraction. Thus, this abundant [4] symbiont could, under dened
hostile conditions, be able to produce very active elements against
oxidative stress. In this study, we sought to understand how BT
remained viable during the extraction that generated SOD in E.
Electronic microscopy (EM) was used to visualize any change of the
BT morphology related to any protein export pathway during the
extraction. Mass nger printing technique was used to identify
other proteins in E. The anti-oxidative effect of E was searched
in vitro on H2O2