Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0699790 (colon cancer)
 28,837 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) has been implicated in diarrhoeal illness in animals and humans. Recent data suggest that ETBF is associated with flares of inflammatory bowel disease. Toxigenicity is attributed to expression of a toxin referred to as fragilysin, which stimulates fluid accumulation in ligated intestinal segments and alter the morphology of human intestinal cells. Three different isoforms or variants of the enterotoxin gene, designated bft-1, bft-2, and bft-3, have been identified. In this study we investigated the distribution of bft alleles among ETBF strains in stool specimens from patients with colon cancer (n: 31), the control patients (n: 8) and extraintestinal sources (n: 15). We used restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the PCR-amplified enterotoxin gene and sequencing the PCR-product to detect the isoforms of bft gene. Among the stool strains, bft-1 was found to be more common than bft-2; as it was detected 27 of 31 strains from colon cancer patients and 7 of 8 control strains. The bft-1 isoform was also found in almost all isolates from extraintestinal sites. No bft-3 subtype was detected among all tested strains.
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PMID:The distribution of the bft alleles among enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis strains from stool specimens and extraintestinal sites. 1670 17

Bacteroides fragilis is a minor component of the microbial flora of the intestine but the most frequent disease--causing anaerobe. Virulence characteristics are its capsule, which induces abscess formation, and the production of fragilysin, a Zn-metalloprotease. This toxin's action is to hydrolyze the extracellular domain of E-cadherin, the effect of which is to disrupt intercellular adhesion and thus increase permeability of the epithelium, causing intracellular redistribution of actin with morphologic changes to the cells and release of beta-catenin, which translocates to the nucleus and ultimately increases cellular proliferation. Clinically, enterotoxigenic B. fragilis is linked to secretory diarrhea, particularly in children. Preliminary evidence suggests that enterotoxigenic B. fragilis may also be linked to inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.
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PMID:Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis. 1846 82