# Commensal Gut Bacterium Curbs Inflammation



## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

FYICommensal Gut Bacterium Curbs Inflammation Via a Novel MechanismBy Megan RauscherNEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 23 - Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a commensal bacterium prevalent in the human gastrointestinal tract, can modulate gut inflammation, research conducted in a UK laboratory indicates. That knowledge could open up new avenues for designing drugs to combat chronic intestinal inflammation."Importantly," Dr. Denise Kelly from the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, told Reuters Health, "the mechanism by which B. thetaiotaomicron attenuates inflammation is novel and involves the interaction between two nuclear proteins - nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma)."According to studies in vitro and in rats, B. thetaiotaomicron promotes the clearance of NF-kB, a key transcription factor in inflammation, via PPAR-gamma, thereby limiting inflammatory gene transcription.The researchers found that a decrease in PPAR-gamma abolishes both NF-kB export and the anti-inflammatory activity of B. thetaiotaomicron."The physiological effects of this anti-inflammatory bacterium were measurable in vivo," the team reports in the December 22 advance online issue of Nature Immunology. "As a prevalent constituent of the normal human gut microflora, its contribution to immune homeostasis and innate and adaptive mechanisms of defense is likely to be important."Identification of this bacterium and its novel anti-inflammatory mode of action could lead to new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease and other inflammatory conditions. The recent publication of the genome sequence for B. thetaiotaomicron will help on this front."Using the live bacterium as a probiotic is one possible means of restoring normal gut function," Dr. Kelly said.Nature Immunol 2003. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/466369


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