Presence of intracellular Escherichia coli in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Different strains of invasive Escherichia coli (E. coli), isolated from intestinal mucosa of patients, are related to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). To evaluate an association between intracellular E. coli and IBD; its clinical characteristics and use of steroids. Sixty one patients with Crohn's disease and 83 with ulcerative colitis were studied. To determine the intracellular E. coli content, colonoscopy biopsies of these patients and 29 control subjects were processed using the gentamicin protection assay. Differences in the bacterial content between patient groups were evaluated using Mann-Whitney test, while the association between presence of E. coli with endoscopic activity, location/extension and use of corticosteroid as anti-inflammatory treatment were evaluated with Fisher's exact test or Chi-square test. E. coli strains were detected in 36.1, 39.3 and 10.3% of patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and controls, respectively. The number of bacteria per biopsy in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis was significantly higher than in controls (p < 0.01 between patients and controls). In ulcerative colitis, significant associations were found between the presence of bacteria and disease location and use of corticosteroids. In Crohn's disease, no association was found. IBD are associated with the presence of intracellular E. coli strains in the intestinal mucosa, suggesting an alteration in the microbiota or loss of integrity of the epithelial barrier. The association of intracellular E. coli with clinical features and the use of corticosteroids in ulcerative colitis suggests that different factors could promote colonization or proliferation of these bacteria.