The mucosal anaerobic gram-negative bacteria of the human colon.
The mucosal anaerobic gram-negative bacteria of the human colon.
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DOI：
10.1086/516189
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发表时间：
1997-09-01
影响因子：
11.8
通讯作者：
Ferguson, A
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Poxton, IR;Brown, R;Ferguson, A
Our recent work on gram-negative anaerobes has centered on the host response to Bacteroides species, especially to the lipopoly-saccharide component of the cell envelope. The main topics of interest have been (1) to examine the antibody response to Bacte-roides lipopolysaccharide in health and disease [1, 2],(2) to inves-tigate the mechanisms of resistance to serum complement [3], and (3) to assess the inflammatory potential of the supposedly weakly endotoxic lipopolysaccharide molecule of Bacteroides species. This last topic was the subject of a presentation at a previous meeting of the Anaerobe Society of the Americas, in 1994 [4]. A sound knowledge of the basic bacteriology of the species belonging to the genus Bacteroides and of their natural history within the colon is essential background to these immunologic studies. Much information is available from the established litera-ture. There is a wealth of quantitative studies on the different Bacteroides species found in the gastrointestinal tract during health and disease [5]. It must be stressed that much of this information is based on the bacteriology of feces. There has been little quantita-tive work on the bacteria that adhere to the colonic mucosa, and this has resulted in some possibly erroneous statements. For instance, there are many examples in the literature that state that Bacteroides fragilis is a minor component of the colonic mi-croflora, but what is strictly meant is that B. fragilis is a minor component offeces.The position of B. fragilis as the major pathogenic species of the genus is well established. The reasons for its greater pathogenic potential, compared with that of the other species, have been the subject of much research. This has caused some controversy. Its mechanisms of pathogenicity are slowly being resolved, and now much is understood [6], especially the role of the capsule in the formation of abscesses [7].
