Intestinal Bacteria Trigger Immune Response
Finding suggests new treatments for bowel diseases, study says
Posted October 23, 2008
THURSDAY, Oct. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified
specific types of bacteria in the intestine that trigger the creation
of pro-inflammatory immune cells.
The finding may help in the development of new treatments for
inflammatory bowel disease and other conditions, said the scientists
at the New York University Langone Medical Center.
Gut bacteria have many roles, including aiding in digestion and
protecting against harmful bacteria. The study adds to growing
evidence that the kinds of bacteria in human stomachs and intestines
have an impact on health, the researchers said.
The researchers found that cytophaga-flavobacter-bacteroidetes (CFB)
bacteria were associated with the creation of Th17 cells in mice.
"It's not the amount of microbial flora but the kind of microbial
flora that seems to count," Dr. Dan Littman, a professor of molecular
immunology at the NYU School of Medicine, said in a school news
release.
The study was published in the Oct. 16 issue of the journal Cell Host
& Microbe.
"There is more and more evidence that gut flora have a tremendously
im****tant influence on human health," Yasmine Belkaid, chief of the
mucosal immunology unit in the laboratory of parasitic diseases at the
U.S. National Institutes of Health, said in the news release.
"If some set of microbes induces a specific immune response, this
points to a way to manipulate the immune system. This new study is the
first re****t that has associated a defined set of gut flora with the
induction of specific immune cells," Belkaid said.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about inflammatory
bowel disease.
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2008/10/23/intestinal-bacteria-trigger-immune-response.html
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