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Abstract
BackgroundThis study investigated a possible role of Escherichia coli in propagation and perpetuation of the chronic inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC). The lesions of UC are located superficially on the rectal and/or colonic mucosa. It is suggested that the commensal bacteria of the digestive tract may play a role in the pathogenesis of UC. Several studies have demonstrated proliferation of E. coli in the gut of UC patients. An increase in the number of E. coli in the inflamed tissue is most probably related to the abundance of iron ions produced by the bacteria.MethodsColon mucosal biopsies were collected from 30 patients with acute-phase UC, both from tissues with inflammatory changes (n = 30) and unchanged tissue with no inflammatory changes (n = 30) from the same patient. Biopsies were also taken from 16 patients with irritable bowel syndrome diarrhea who comprised the control group. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the biopsy specimens was performed using culture methods and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Genotyping of the E. coli isolates was done using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Multiplex PCR was used to compare the E. coli strains for the presence of genes responsible for synthesis of iron acquisition proteins: iroN, iutA, iha, ireA, chuA, and hlyA.ResultsWe demonstrated that there was a significant increase in the number of E. coli at the sites of inflammation in patients with UC compared to the control group (P = 0.031). Comparative analysis of the restriction patterns of E. coli isolated from inflammatory and unchanged tissues showed that the local inflammatory changes did not promote specific E. coli strains. There was a significant difference in the frequency of the iroN gene in E. coli isolated from patients with UC as compared to the control group.ConclusionsThe increase in the numbers of E. coli in the inflammatory tissues is related to the presence of chuA and iutA genes, which facilitate iron acquisition during chronic intestinal inflammatory processes.
Highlights
This study investigated a possible role of Escherichia coli in propagation and perpetuation of the chronic inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC)
Qualitative and quantitative assessment of bacterial species based on culture methods Based on classical culture methods, we showed that there were significantly more lactobacilli in the inflammatory tissues (Sample A) compared to the control group (P = 0.044), and in the noninflammatory mucosa (Sample B) compared to the control group (P = 0.041)
There were no significant differences in the numbers of Enterococcus, Streptococcus and Bifidobacterium isolated from inflammatory and unchanged tissues in patients with UC compared with the control group
Summary
This study investigated a possible role of Escherichia coli in propagation and perpetuation of the chronic inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC). It is suggested that the commensal bacteria of the digestive tract may play a role in the pathogenesis of UC. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease and, like Crohn’s disease, belongs to the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) [1,2]. Particular attention was paid to bacteria such as Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Listeria and Mycobacterium and their possible role in the inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract [5,6]. None of the studies showed any increase in the populations of the above bacteria in the course of the disease. It is suggested that commensal bacteria of the digestive tract may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of UC [2,7]
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