Brief Article
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 7, 2010; 16(5): 583-587
Published online Feb 7, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i5.583
Crypt abscess-associated microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease and acute self-limited colitis
Harry Sokol, Nadia Vasquez, Nadia Hoyeau-Idrissi, Philippe Seksik, Laurent Beaugerie, Anne Lavergne-Slove, Philippe Pochart, Philippe Marteau
Harry Sokol, Philippe Seksik, Laurent Beaugerie, Gastroenterology and Nutrition Department, Saint Antoine Hospital, Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris6 University, AP-HP, 184 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75571, Paris, France
Nadia Vasquez, Philippe Pochart, Philippe Marteau, Laboratoire de Biologie EA 3199, CNAM, 2 rue Conte, 75003, Paris, France
Nadia Hoyeau-Idrissi, Pathology Department, Saint Antoine Hospital, Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris6 University, AP-HP, 184 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75571, Paris, France
Anne Lavergne-Slove, Pathology Department, Lariboisière Hospital & Paris 7 University, 2 rue Ambroise-Paré, 75475, Paris, France
Philippe Marteau, Medicosurgical Department of Digestive Diseases, Lariboisière Hospital, AP-HP & Paris 7 University, 2 rue Ambroise-Paré, 75475, Paris, France
Author contributions: Sokol H, Marteau P and Lavergne-Slove A designed the research; Sokol H and Vasquez N performed the research; Sokol H, Vasquez N, Hoyeau-Idrissi N, Seksik P, Beaugerie L, Lavergne-Slove A, Pochart P and Marteau P analyzed the data; Sokol H and Marteau P wrote the paper.
Supported by The Association Francois Aupetit
Correspondence to: Harry Sokol, MD, PhD, Gastroenterology and Nutrition Department, Saint Antoine Hospital, Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris6 University, AP-HP, 184 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75571, Paris, France. sokol_harry@yahoo.fr
Telephone: +33-1-49283162 Fax: +33-1-49283188
Received: July 22, 2009
Revised: August 28, 2009
Accepted: September 4, 2009
Published online: February 7, 2010
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate whether crypt abscesses from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients contain bacteria and to establish their nature.

METHODS: We studied 17 ulcerative colitis patients, 11 Crohn’s disease patients, 7 patients with acute self-limited colitis (ASLC) and normal colonic biopsies from 5 subjects who underwent colonoscopy for colon cancer screening. A fluorescent in situ hybridization technique was applied to colonic biopsies to assess the microbiota composition of the crypts and crypt abscesses.

RESULTS: Crypts colonized by bacteria were observed in 42.9% and 3.6% of ASLC and IBD patients, respectively (P = 0.019). Crypt abscesses colonized by bacteria were observed in 28.6% and 0.0% of ASLC and IBD patients, respectively (P = 0.035).

CONCLUSION: These results do not support the hypothesis that crypt abscesses in IBD are the result of localized dysbiosis arising from persistence of living bacteria colonizing the crypts.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel diseases; Crohn’s disease; Ulcerative colitis; Crypt abscess; Microbiota