LAB NOTES Check out recent research developments at UF Health
Helpful Bacterium Shown To Fortify Newborns’ Immune System In Animal Model
Among newborn infants, intestinal infections can be quick and dangerous. A UF Health researcher has shown a beneficial bacterium fortifies the nascent immune system to fight these infections in mouse models. The bacterium is derived from gut microorganisms found in breastfed human infants. It works by reducing inflammation that leads to necrotizing enterocolitis, which destroys intestinal tissue and kills 20 to 30 percent of premature infants who get the disease.
The findings show the strain of Propionibacterium is potently effective and establishes how it mobilizes to fight infections. The findings are significant because they show the immune system can be bolstered to ward off serious, potentially fatal intestinal infections shortly after birth.
COMMON FOOD POISON TOXIN AND LINK TO COLORECTAL CANCERUF— researchers have found a link between colorectal cancer in mice and the most commonly reported bacterial cause of food poisoning in the U.S. Little is known about Campylobacter jejuni, a bacteria that causes diarrheal illness, or its effect on cancer. Around 2 million cases of human campylobacteriosis ranging from loose stools to dysentery occur each year in the U.S. Some Campylobacter jejuni species have a toxin called cytolethal distending toxin, or CDT. The researchers demonstrated that this CDT toxin from the Campylobacter jejuni is essential to causing colorectal cancer in mice.
