Certain oral bacteria activate an immunological response when ectopically colonizing the gut

October 20, 2017

Klebsiella species bacteria naturally reside in the mouth of humans. Using germ-free mice, researchers from Keio University, Waseda University, RIKEN IMS and RIKEN CSRS found that when Klebsiella colonizes the intestines during a disruption of intestinal flora, TH1 immune cells go into overdrive, which can result in inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

These findings are expected to lead to development of new preventive methods, and remedial and diagnostic pharmaceuticals.

Original article

Science doi:10.1126/science.aan4526

K. Atarashi, W. Suda, C. Luo, T. Kawaguchi, I. Motoo, S. Narushima, Y. Kiguchi, K. Yasuma, E. Watanabe, T. Tanoue, C. A. Thaiss, M. Sato, K. Toyooka, H. S. Said, H. Yamagami, S. A. Rice, D. Gevers, R. C. Johnson, J. A. Segre, K. Chen, J. K. Kolls, E. Elinav, H. Morita, R. J. Xavier, M. Hattori, K. Honda,

"Ectopic colonization of oral bacteria in the intestine drives TH1cell induction and inflammation".

Contact

Kiminori Toyooka

Senior Research Scientist

Mass Spectrometry and Microscopy Unit