title: Adherent-invasive E. coli in Crohn disease: bacterial "agent provocateur".
abstract: The role of adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC) in Crohn disease (CD) has been in debate for decades. AIEC bacteria are found in the small intestine of patients with chronic CD, but it has remained unclear whether this infection is causal or secondary to underlying immune deficiencies in CD patients. In this issue of the JCI, Chassaing and colleagues demonstrate that AIEC bacteria express an adherence factor called long polar fimbriae (LPF) that aids in the binding of these bacteria to M cells overlying Peyer's patches and subsequent entry into lymphoid tissue. These findings provide a mechanism of AIEC penetration but do not prove that AIEC is causing a primary infection in the Peyer's patches that is necessary for the initiation or persistence of CD inflammation.
authors.affiliation: Mucosal Immunity Section, Laboratory of Host Defenses, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Wstrober@niaid.nih.gov
authors.forename: Warren
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Strober
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D051379:Mice; D010581:Peyer's Patches / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype