Sulfate-reducing bacteria in human feces and their association with inflammatory bowel diseases

Abstract

We have searched for sulfate-reducing bacteria in the feces of 41 healthy individuals and 110 patients from a Hepato-Gastro-Enterology Unit using a specific liquid medium (Test-kit Labe 'ge 0 , Compagnie Franc°aise de Ge ¤othermie, Orle ¤ans, France). The 110 patients were separated in 22 patients presenting with inflammatory bowel diseases and 88 patients hospitalized for other lower (n = 30) or upper (n = 58) digestive tract diseases. Sulfate-reducing bacteria were isolated from 10 healthy individuals (24%), 15 patients presenting with inflammatory bowel diseases (68%), and 33 patients with other symptoms (37%). A multiplex PCR was devised for the identification of Desulfovibrio piger (formerly Desulfomonas pigra), Desulfovibrio fairfieldensis and Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, and applied to the above isolates. The strains of sulfate-reducing bacteria consisted of D. piger (39 isolates), D. fairfieldensis (19 isolates) and D. desulfuricans (one isolate). The prevalence of D. piger was significantly higher in inflammatory bowel disease patients (55%) as compared to healthy individuals (12%) or patients with other symptoms (25%) (P 6 0.05). ß

Bacteremia caused by Desulfovibrio fairfieldensis

“…Subsequently, D. fairfi eldensis has been isolated from 4,5,9,10 liver abscess, 11 intraabdominal and abdominalwall abscesses, 10 peritoneal fl uid, 5,12 urine, 13 and periodontal pockets. 14, 15 The organism has been detected in the gastrointestinal tracts of normal human hosts 16 and has been exclusively isolated from specimens of human origin to date. Therefore, the organism may be a normal resident in the human intestine and may occasionally cause infection through translocation.…”

Hydrogen as an energy source for the human pathogen Bilophila wadsworthia

“…Taurine-conjugated bile acids are a likely source of taurine for B. wadsworthia, and this organism has also been implicated in bile acid metabolism (Narushima et al 2006). Taurine respiration leads to sulphide formation, which is thought to have a role in inflammatory bowel diseases due to its toxic effects on colonic epithelial cells (Roediger et al 1997;Campieri and Gionchetti 2001;Loubinoux et al 2002). Taurine utilization by B. wadsworthia has been well characterised (Laue et al , 2001Laue and Cook 2000a, b) but comparatively less is known about how carbon and energy sources are metabolized by this organism in the colon.…”

The role of microbial agents in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease

“…By using a multiplex PCR technique, D. piger, D. fairfieldensis and D. desulfuricans were identified in the faeces of patients with IBD. The prevalence of D. piger was significantly higher in IBD patients compared to healthy individuals (P < 0.05) [22]. By contrast, the overproduction of H 2 S in patients with ulcerative colitis appears to be related to an excess of SRB, particularly D. desulfuricans in faecal samples [19,20].…”

“…Several studies have suggested that healthy individuals have lower Desulfovibrio numbers in faecal and mucosal samples than IBD patients, particularly those with ulcerative colitis [16,[20][21][22]. By using cultural methods, mucosa associated SRB were present in 92% of ulcerative colitis tissues and in 52% of healthy subjects.…”

“…Desulfovibrios are the predominant SRB in the human large intestine [22]. It belongs to a heretogeneous group of sulphate-reducing, motile and Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria with more than 30 proposed species, some of which infrequently cause a variety of human infections (D. .…”