Antibiotics and probiotics in treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Many experimental and clinical observations suggest that intestinal microflora plays a potential role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease （IBD）. Manipulation of the luminal content using antibiotics or probiotics represents a potentially effective therapeutic option. The available studies do not support the use of antibiotics in ulcerative colitis （UC）. Antibiotics are effective in treating septic complications of Crohn＇s disease （CD） but their use as a primary therapy is more controversial, although this approach is frequently and successfully adopted in clinical practice.There is evidence that probiotic therapy may be effective in the prevention and treatment of mild to moderate UC. In contrast, a lack of successful study data at present precludes the widespread use of probiotics in the treatment of CD. Both antibiotics and probiotics appear to play a beneficial role in the treatment and prevention of pouchitis and further trials are warranted to fully quantify their clinical efficacy.

Eviendep~ reduces number and size of duodenal polyps in familial adenomatous polyposis patients with ileal pouchanal anastomosis

AIM:To evaluate if 3 mo oral supplementation with Eviendep was able to reduce the number of duodenal polyps in familial adenomatous polyposis(FAP)patients with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis(IPAA).METHODS:Eleven FAP patients with IPAA and duodenal polyps were enrolled.They underwent upper gastrointestinal(GI)endoscopy at the baseline and after 3 mo of treatment.Each patient received 5 mg Eviendep twice a day,at breakfast and dinner time,for3 mo.Two endoscopists evaluated in a blinded manner the number and size of duodenal polyps.Upper GI endoscopies with biopsies were performed at the baseline(T0)with the assessment of the Spigelman score.Polyps>10 mm were removed during endoscopy and at the end of the procedure a new Spigelman score was determined(T1).The procedure was repeated 3 mo after the baseline(T2).Four photograms were examined for each patient,at T1 and T2.The examined area was divided into 3 segments:duodenal bulb,second and third portion duodenum.Biopsy specimens were taken from all polyps>10 mm and from all suspicious ones,defined by the presence of a central depression,irregular surface,or irregular vascular pattern.Histology was classified according to the updated Vienna criteria.RESULTS:At baseline the mean number of duodenal detected polyps was 27.7 and mean sizes were 15.8mm;the mean Spigelman score was 7.1.After polypectomy the mean number of duodenal detected polyps was 25.7 and mean sizes were 7.6 mm;the mean Spigelman score was 6.4.After 3 mo of Eviendep bid,all patients showed a reduction of number and size of duodenal polyps.The mean number of duodenal polyps was 8(P=0.021)and mean size was 4.4 mm;the mean Spigelman score was 6.6.Interrater agreement was measured.Lesions>1 cm found a very good degree of concordance(kappa 0.851)and a good concordance was as well encountered for smaller lesions(kappa 0.641).CONCLUSION:Our study demonstrated that shortterm(90 d)supplementation with Eviendep in FAP patients with IPAA and with recurrent adenomas in the duodenal mucosa,resulted effective in reducing polyps number of 32%and size of 51%.

Lactobacilli,bifi dobacteria and E.coli nissle induce pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells

AIM： To investigate whether the stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells （PBMNC） with the cell debris and cell extraction of different probiotic strains is similar or species specific. METHODS： Three strains of bifidobacteria, 4 strains of lactobacilli, and E. coli nissle were sonicated and centrifuged in order to divide them into cell extract and cell debris. PBMNC were separated by density gradient and incubated for 36 h with either the cell debris or the cell extract of single strains of probiotic bacteria in doses from 10^2 to 10^8 CFU/mL. Cell supernatants were taken and interleukin （IL）-10, IL-1β, and tumor necosis factor （TNF）-α were determined by ELISA. RESULTS： Depending on the species super-family, the strains had different stimulation patterns. Except for both L. casei strains, the cell extract of bitTdobacteria and/actobacilli had less stimulating capacity than cell debris, whereas the cell extract of E. coli nissle had similar stimulating properties to that of the cell debris of the strain and significantly more stimulating capacity than that of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. The cell debris of bifidobacteria stimulated more cytokine release than the cell debris of lactobacilli. The cell debris of lactobacilli did not have a stimulating capacity when lower concentrations were used. Neither cell extraction nor cell debris had an inhibitory effect on the production of the tested cytokines by stimulated PBMNC. CONCLUSION： The incubation of probiotic strains, which have been used in clinical trials for inflammatory diseases, with immunocompetent cells leads to different species specific reactions. High IL-10 response to cell debris of bifidobacteria and E. coli nissle can be found. This corresponds to positive effects of bihdobacteria and E. coli nissle in clinical trials for inflammatory bowel disease compared to negative outcomes obtained with lactobacilli.

Antibiotics and probiotics in chronic pouchitis:A comparative proteomic approach

AIM:To profile protein expression in mucosal biopsies from patients with chronic refractory pouchitis following antibiotic or probiotic treatment,using a comparative proteomic approach. METHODS:Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry were used to characterize the changes related to antibiotic therapy in the protein expression profiles of biopsy samples from patients with chronic refractory pouchitis.The same proteomic approach was applied to identify differentially expressed proteins in the non-inflamed pouch before and after probiotic administration. RESULTS:In the first set of 2D gels,26 different proteins with at least 2-fold changes in their expression levels between the pouchitis condition and antibiotic-induced remission were identified.In the second set of analysis,the comparison between mucosal biopsy proteomes in the normal and probiotic-treated pouch resulted in 17 significantly differently expressed proteins.Of these,8 exhibited the same pattern of deregulation as in the pouchitis/pouch remission group. CONCLUSION:For the first time,2D protein maps of mucosal biopsies from patients with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis were provided,and differentially expressed proteins following antibiotic/probiotic treatment were identified.

Cell proliferation of esophageal squamous epithelium in erosive and non-erosive reflux disease

AIM： To elucidate cell proliferation in erosive reflux disease （ERD） and non-erosive reflux disease （NERD）, we evaluated markers in squamous epithelial cells.METHODS： Thirty-four consecutive patients with gas- troesophageal-reflux-disease-related symptoms （21 NERD and 13 ERD） were evaluated for the enrolment into the study. All patients underwent 24-h pH moni- toring, standard endoscopy, and biopsy for histological evaluation. The expression of cyclins D and A was eval- uated by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） from isolated epithelial cells. In all samples, analysis of the isolated cell population revealed the presence of epithelial cells only.RESULTS： Real-time RT-PCR showed that, in patientswith ERD, the relative expression of cyclin D1 mRNA in esophageal epithelium was strongly decreased in comparison with NERD patients. The mean value of relative expression of cyclin D1 mRNA in NERD patients was 3.44 ± 1.9, whereas in ERD patients, it was 1.32 ± 0.87 （P = 0.011）. Real-time RT-PCR showed that, in patients with ERD, relative expression of cyclin A mRNA in esophageal epithelium was decreased in comparison with that in NERD patients （2.31 ± 2.87 vs 0.66 ± 1.11）. The mean bromodeoxyuridine labeling index in the NERD patients was 5.42% ± 1.68%, whereas in ERD patients, it was 4.3% ± 1.59%.

Role of conventional therapies in the era of biological treatment in Crohn’s disease

Outstanding progress regarding the pathophysiology of Crohn's disease (CD) has led to the development of innovative therapeutic concepts. Numerous controlled trials have been performed in CD. This review concentrates on the results of randomized,placebo-controlled trials,and meta-analyses when available,that provide the highest degree of evidence. Current guidelines on the management of CD recommend a step-up approach to treatment involving the addition of more powerful therapies as the severity of disease and refractoriness to therapy increase. The advent of biological drugs has opened new therapeutic horizons for treating CD,modifying the treatment goals. However,the large majority of patients with CD will be managed through conventional therapy,even if they are a prelude to biological therapy.