Identification of Human Intestinal Bacteria that Promote or Inhibit Inflammation

摘要

Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with the relative increase in the population of Proteobacteria compared to other bacterial phyla, which in turn might be linked to cancer predisposition. Using a Drosophila melanogaster model of intestinal infection we have investigated various human intestinal bacteria, including Proteobacteria and screened for the inflammatory responses they elicit individually or in binary combinations. We find that some highly inflammatory bacterial strains loose their inflammatory effect when in combination with other highly inflammatory strains. Thus specific bacterial compositions rather than mere presence or absence of bacterial species dictates the degree of bacterially-driven intestinal inflammation.