PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 29 (UPI) — One oral dose of the protein curli, which occurs in bacterial biofilms, significantly reduced the severity of inflammatory bowel disease in mice, researchers found in a new study.
Bacteria in biofilms in the body are held together by an extracellular matrix, which is formed to protect the organisms. The biofilms produce substances beneficial to their host, such as curli, which reinforce the epithelial lining of the intestinal tract.
Most treatments for IBD suppress the immune system in order to reduce inflammation, however they also carry side effects such as infection and increased risk for cancer.
“The really remarkable finding is that one dose of curli — not a daily dose, but just a single oral dose — decreased inflammation and disease pathology and altered the cytokine profile,” said Dr. Çagla Tükel, an assistant professor in the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, in a press release.
Researchers found in lab work that curli activates receptor 2, triggering production of an anti-inflammatory cytokine called interleukin-10, or IL-10. The researchers then gave mice with acute colitis, a type of IBD, an oral dose of curli, which increased production of IL-10 and reduced their inflammation significantly.
Tükel said curli will need to be explored further as a possible treatment for IBD before it is used with humans, and that further research into how the protein operates may lead to better understanding and treatment of IBD and related conditions.
The study is published in the journal Biofilms and Microbiomes.
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