Impact Of Adherent-Invasive E. Coli (AIEC) On The Small Intestinal Microbiota And Inflammation

Resident microbes throughout the gastrointestinal tract (GI) are implicated in host health and progression of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and more specifically, Crohn’s Disease (CD). CD is a chronic inflammatory condition of the entire GI tract. A pathobiont Escherichia coli (E. coli) pathotype termed Adherent-Invasive E. coli (AIEC) has been associated with increased inflammation in CD patients (1-3). Previous research has studied the impact of AIEC on the microbiota and inflammation in colonic tissues, however, less is known about the effect on small intestinal tissue and its microbiota due to difficulties sampling this region of the GI tract. With increasing morbidity of CD, especially in the United States, it is important to characterize the role of AIEC in the pathogenesis of CD. The goals of this project were to determine to what extent Crohn’s-associated clinical AIEC and non-AIEC strains colonize the small intestine and validate their impact on microbial dysbiosis and small intestinal inflammation.