Gastrointestinal Research Group, Division of Applied Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2011;6(6):e21490. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021490. Epub 2011 Jun 27.
The critical role of bacteria in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC) is well recognized, but an individual causative microorganism has not been singled out so far. Campylobacter concisus and other non-jejuni species of Campylobacter have been implicated as putative aetiological agents in inflammatory bowel disease in children, but such studies have not been addressed in adults. This study investigated the prevalence of Campylobacter species in colonic biopsy samples from adults with UC and healthy controls.
Adult patients who were undergoing diagnostic colonoscopy were recruited for the study, which included 69 patients with histologically proven UC and 65 healthy controls. DNA was extracted from the biopsy samples and subjected to Campylobacter genus specific and Campylobacter concisus specific polymerase chain reaction and sequencing.
Detection of all Campylobacter DNA utilising genus specific primers was significantly higher in cases of UC, with a prevalence of 73.9% (51/69) compared to 23.1% (15/65) in controls (p = 0.0001). Nested PCR for C. concisus DNA was positive in 33.3% (23/69) of biopsy samples from subjects with UC, which was significantly higher than the prevalence rate of 10.8% (7/65) from controls (p = 0.0019). Sequencing of the remaining Campylobacter positive samples revealed that Campylobacter ureolyticus was positive in 21.7% (15/69) of samples from UC subjects as opposed to 3.1% (2/65) in controls (p = 0.0013). Mixed Campylobacter species were more common in UC patients, 20.3% (14/69) as compared to controls 4.6% (3/65) (p = 0.0084).
The higher prevalence of Campylobacter genus and more specifically C. concisus and C. ureolyticus in biopsy samples from adults with UC suggests these genera of bacteria may be involved in the chronic inflammation that is characteristically seen in UC. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of this association of C. concisus and C. ureolyticus with UC in adults.
细菌在溃疡性结肠炎（UC）发病机制中的关键作用已得到充分认识，但迄今为止尚未确定单一的致病微生物。空肠弯曲菌和其他非空肠弯曲菌种已被认为是儿童炎症性肠病的潜在病因，但在成人中尚未进行此类研究。本研究调查了结肠炎活检样本中成人 UC 患者和健康对照者中弯曲菌属种的流行情况。
招募接受诊断性结肠镜检查的成年患者进行研究，包括 69 例组织学证实的 UC 患者和 65 例健康对照者。从活检样本中提取 DNA，进行弯曲菌属特异性和空肠弯曲菌特异性聚合酶链反应和测序。
利用属特异性引物检测到的所有弯曲菌 DNA 在 UC 病例中明显更高，患病率为 73.9%（51/69），而对照组为 23.1%（15/65）（p=0.0001）。UC 患者活检样本中 C. concisus DNA 的巢式 PCR 阳性率为 33.3%（23/69），明显高于对照组的 10.8%（7/65）（p=0.0019）。对其余弯曲菌阳性样本进行测序显示，UC 患者中 21.7%（15/69）的样本中检测到解脲弯曲菌，而对照组中为 3.1%（2/65）（p=0.0013）。UC 患者混合弯曲菌种更为常见，20.3%（14/69），而对照组为 4.6%（3/65）（p=0.0084）。
在 UC 患者的活检样本中，弯曲菌属，特别是空肠弯曲菌和解脲弯曲菌的更高患病率表明，这些细菌属可能参与了 UC 中特有的慢性炎症。据我们所知，这是首次报道空肠弯曲菌和解脲弯曲菌与成人 UC 之间的这种关联。
