Last Updated: 2007-05-04 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 04 - Findings from a study by Canadian investigators, published in the May issue of Gut, support a connection between Escherichia coli and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Dr. Denis O. Krause told Reuters Health that "a number of research groups have associated E. coli with IBD, but the exact mode of action is still unclear."

"E. coli from IBD tissue," he added, "have been shown to produce serine protease autotransporters, a class of peptides that degrade the junctions between cells in the intestine. Degradation of junctions between cell is something we know happens in IBD."

Dr. Krause and colleagues at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg examined biopsy specimens from 13 patients with Crohn's disease, 19 with ulcerative colitis, and 15 controls.

The team found that the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae was 3 to 4 logs higher in tissues of patients with IBD than in control specimens. In addition, the B2+D phylogenetic groups where more prevalent in these patients. These groups, the researchers point out, are associated with serine protease autotransporters and adherence factors and may have a significant role in the etiology of IBD.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Jonathan M. Rhodes of the University of Liverpool, UK notes that the findings are line with those of other studies and that, along with work in dogs, raise the possibility that "we now have a new therapeutic target."

Date Posted: May 17, 2007