A substance produced by one of the types of symbiotic bacteria in the human intestine can become a new cure for inflammatory bowel diseases, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, reports Medical News Today..

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology, led by Associate Professor Sarkis Mazmanian (Sarkis K. Mazmanian) found that the bacterium Bacteroides fragilis living in the intestine produces a substance called polysaccharide A, which provides prevention of inflammation. This bacterium belongs to opportunistic pathogens, t. , Being an ordinary component of the intestinal flora, under certain conditions can cause disease.

During the experiment, the normal composition of the intestinal flora of mice was disturbed by the introduction of the pathogenic microbe Helicobacter hepaticus, which causes a rodent-like disease similar to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in humans. Mice, which were additionally injected with Bacteroides fragilis, were protected from the disease. The same effect was obtained in animals receiving purified polysaccharide A.

Scientists explain the mechanism of this action in that polysaccharide A stimulates the production of anti-inflammatory protein interleukin-10 (IL-10), also known as a factor inhibiting the synthesis of cytokines (CSIF), by CD4 + (T-helper). Due to this, inflammatory processes in the intestinal wall are suppressed.

According to estimates, about one million Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases, and the number is steadily growing. Thus, the incidence of Crohn's disease in the United States has increased over the past 20 years by 400%.

Medicinform. Net.

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