Fascinating. Hmm expression of TNF-alpha, and the various IL's. Hmmm we treat with Remicade/humira (tnf-alpha-blockers) and Stelara treats the IL-based expression. The distal part is interesting!
It's kinda like putting a rotten apple in a barrel of fresh apples. Before long that's what the barrel turns into...
Of course all mouse model stuff, so hardly definitive in humans. I wonder how many more of these baddies there are. I tend to doubt it is just one bacterium, but much like a rowdy frat party, I am sure there others who add to the craziness (from the violent drunk, the loudmouth, the weepy drunk, the overly affectionate drink, etc etc. get them all interacting within the same room and you know there's going to be trouble).
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov said...
Abstract
Although it has been recognized that intestinal bacteria play an important role in the pathology of human ulcerative colitis (UC), specific pathogenic bacteria for UC have not been identified. We investigated the influence of Paraclostridium bifermentans PAGU1678 strain on the pathology of a UC mouse model and found it increased UC pathosis scores such as loose and bloody stools, reduced diversity of fecal flora, disappearance of the crypt structure of distal colon tissue, destruction of intestinal epithelial cells, and atrophy of the colon. Furthermore, we observed an increase in COX-2, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1, and IL-17 expression and a decrease in Foxp3 and SOCS3 expression, as inflammation-related factors and inflammatory cytokines, a decrease in the concentration of short chain fatty acids (acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid) in feces, and an increase of intestinal mucosal myeloperoxidase activity. These results suggest that P. bifermentans PAGU1678 is a pathology-exacerbating factor in a mouse model of UC. This study is the first to demonstrate exacerbation of the pathological condition in a mouse model of UC by a single bacterial strain.