Copyright
©2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 14, 2009; 15(42): 5287-5294
Published online Nov 14, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.5287
Mucosal bacterial microflora and mucus layer thickness in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease
Krzysztof Fyderek, Magdalena Strus, Kinga Kowalska-Duplaga, Tomasz Gosiewski, Andrzej Wędrychowicz, Urszula Jedynak-Wąsowicz, Małgorzata Sładek, Stanisław Pieczarkowski, Paweł Adamski, Piotr Kochan, Piotr B Heczko
Krzysztof Fyderek, Kinga Kowalska-Duplaga, Andrzej Wędrychowicz, Urszula Jedynak-Wąsowicz, Małgorzata Sładek, Stanisław Pieczarkowski, Department of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Polish-American Children’s Hospital, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 265 Wielicka Str., 30-663 Cracow, Poland
Magdalena Strus, Tomasz Gosiewski, Piotr Kochan, Piotr B Heczko, Chair of Microbiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 18 Czysta Str., 31-121 Cracow, Poland
Paweł Adamski, Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, 33 Mickiewicza Ave., 31-120 Cracow, Poland
Author contributions: Fyderek K, Kowalska-Duplaga K, Wędrychowicz A, Jedynak-Wąsowicz U, Sładek M and Pieczarkowski S performed the clinical section of the study; Strus M, Gosiewski T, Kochan P, Adamski P and Heczko PB performed the laboratory section of the study; Heczko PB, Fyderek K, Kowalska-Duplaga K, Wędrychowicz A, Strus M, Gosiewski T, Kochan P and Adamski P were involved in writing and editing the manuscript; Fyderek K co-ordinated the collection of all human material; Heczko PB, Fyderek K, Kowalska-Duplaga K, Wędrychowicz A, Strus M and Gosiewski T designed the study.
Supported by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Grant No. 3PO5E09125
Correspondence to: Dr. Krzysztof Fyderek, MD, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Polish-American Children’s Hospital, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 265 Wielicka Str., 30-663 Cracow, Poland. fkrzy@mp.pl
Telephone: +48-12-6574012 Fax: +48-12-6581088
Received: July 9, 2009
Revised: July 28, 2009
Accepted: August 5, 2009
Published online: November 14, 2009
AIM: To assess the mucosa-associated bacterial microflora and mucus layer in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
METHODS: Sixty-one adolescents (mean age 15 years, SD ± 4.13) were included in the study. Intestinal biopsies from inflamed and non-inflamed mucosa of IBD patients and from controls with functional abdominal pain were cultured under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The number of microbes belonging to the same group was calculated per weight of collected tissue. The mucus thickness in frozen samples was measured under a fluorescent microscope.
RESULTS: The ratios of different bacterial groups in inflamed and non-inflamed mucosa of IBD patients and controls were specific for particular diseases. Streptococcus spp. were predominant in the inflamed mucosa of Crohn’s disease (CD) patients (80% of all bacteria), and Lactobacillus spp. were predominant in ulcerative colitis patients (90%). The differences were statistically significant (P = 0.01-0.001). Lower number of bifidobacteria was observed in the whole IBD group. A relation was also found between clinical and endoscopic severity and decreased numbers of Lactobacillus and, to a lesser extent, of Streptococcus in biopsies from CD patients. The mucus layer in the inflamed sites was significantly thinner as compared to controls (P = 0.0033) and to non-inflamed areas in IBD patients (P = 0.031).
CONCLUSION: The significantly thinner mucosa of IBD patients showed a predominance of some aerobes specific for particular diseases, their numbers decreased in relation to higher clinical and endoscopic activity of the disease.
