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Dig Dis Sci (2007) 52:620627 DOI 10.1007/s10620-006-9461-1
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
High Proportions of Proinammatory Bacteria on the Colonic Mucosa in a Young Patient with Ulcerative Colitis as Revealed by Cloning and Sequencing of 16S rRNA Genes
Mei Wang Gran Molin Siv Ahrn Diya Adawi Bengt Jeppsson
Received: 27 February 2006 / Accepted: 19 May 2006 / Published online: 30 January 2007
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Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2007
Abstract The pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC) remains unknown. It is thought to be due to an abnormal and uncontrolled immune response to normally occurring constituents of the intestine. Microbial agents appear to be involved in the pathogenesis and intestinal bacteria seem to be an important factor in the development and chronicity. The aim of this study was to investigate the colonic microbiota of a patient with UC. The colonic tissues were taken during surgery from a 12-year-old girl suffering from UC. The microbiota on the colonic samples was studied by cloning and sequencing of amplied 16S rRNA genes. Compared with healthy subjects, alteration of the dominant bacterial group was observed in the UC patient. We found a high incidence of Enterobacteriaceae, Bacteroides fragilis, and the single phylotype of the Faecalibacterium prausnitzii-like Butyrate-producing bacterium L2-6. Furthermore, there was a substantial presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the present case of UC. The high proportion of adverse proinammatory species is striking in the present case compared with more normal situations. Even if those bacteria are not the cause of the UC, they most probably enhance the symptoms of the disease.
Keywords Ulcerative colitis . Colonic microbiota . 16S rRNA gene . Cloning and sequencing . Inammatory bowel disease
Introduction
In Europe, the incidence rates for ulcerative colitis (UC) range from 1.5 to 20.3 cases per 100,000 person-years. The incidence rates are 40% 80% higher in northern locales compared with those in southern locales [1]. The pathogenesis of UC remains unknown. UC is thought to be due to an abnormal and uncontrolled immune response to normally occurring constituents of the intestine. Microbial agents appear to be involved in the pathogenesis and intestinal bacteria seem to be an important factor in the development and chronicity [24]. Several lines of evidence link inamma-tory bowel diseases (IBD) to modications of intestinal microora. Epidemiologic and...