Mucosal Immunity Section, Laboratory of Host Defenses, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
J Clin Invest. 2011 Mar;121(3):841-4. doi: 10.1172/JCI46333. Epub 2011 Feb 21.
The role of adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC) in Crohn disease (CD) has been in debate for decades. AIEC bacteria are found in the small intestine of patients with chronic CD, but it has remained unclear whether this infection is causal or secondary to underlying immune deficiencies in CD patients. In this issue of the JCI, Chassaing and colleagues demonstrate that AIEC bacteria express an adherence factor called long polar fimbriae (LPF) that aids in the binding of these bacteria to M cells overlying Peyer's patches and subsequent entry into lymphoid tissue. These findings provide a mechanism of AIEC penetration but do not prove that AIEC is causing a primary infection in the Peyer's patches that is necessary for the initiation or persistence of CD inflammation.
黏附侵袭性大肠杆菌(AIEC)在克罗恩病(CD)中的作用已有数十年的争议。AIEC 细菌存在于慢性 CD 患者的小肠中,但仍不清楚这种感染是因果关系还是 CD 患者潜在免疫缺陷的继发症。在本期 JCI 中,Chassaing 和同事证明 AIEC 细菌表达一种称为长极性菌毛(LPF)的粘附因子,有助于这些细菌与派尔集合淋巴结上的 M 细胞结合,并随后进入淋巴组织。这些发现提供了 AIEC 穿透的机制,但不能证明 AIEC 正在派尔集合淋巴结中引起原发性感染,而这种感染对于 CD 炎症的开始或持续是必要的。