Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract will be treated with bacteria
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Scientists from the Toulouse Center for Pathophysiology managed to create "useful bacteria" that can protect the body from intestinal inflammation. This protection is provided by a human protein called elaphin. This finding can be useful for people suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, diseases in which the parts of the thick and small intestine affect the immune cells of the host's body. These diseases are very dangerous, and there are suggestions that they are directly related to the risk of developing colon cancer.
From chronic inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract only in France is affected by about 200 000 people. Patients complain of pain in the abdomen, diarrhea, sometimes with bleeding, as well as cracks and abscesses in the anal canal area.
Currently, experts are studying the causes that lead to the development of chronic inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract, as the main provocateurs they are considering genetic and environmental factors.
The authors of the study focused on the protein, known for its anti-inflammatory effect - the elaphine. Despite the fact that this protein is located directly in the intestine and repels attacks of pathogenic microbes, it does not exist in patients with diseases of the digestive tract.
Scientists believe that by transporting Elafin into the intestine, it is possible to restore balance in the gastrointestinal tract and normalize its functioning.
The ephalin protein was introduced into Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus casei, two food bacteria that are found in dairy products and its effect was tested on experimental mice and human tissue samples in the laboratory. In both cases, experts noted significant improvements in the affected tissues of the intestinal wall.
Scientists say that the results of research can be the beginning of the clinical use of ephalin as a probiotic, which protects the intestines from inflammation and for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
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