Scientists finally discover how a common gut bacterium can trigger colon cancer
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have uncovered a crucial missing link between a common gut bacterium and colorectal cancer, solving a mystery that has puzzled researchers for nearly two decades. The bacterium, Bacteroides fragilis, produces a toxin that damages the colon’s protective lining, triggers chronic inflammation, and promotes tumor formation.
For over two decades, medical researchers have understood that a prevalent gut bacterium can create a toxin that harms the colon and contributes to the development of tumors. However, they remained unclear about how the toxin initially attaches to intestinal cells and initiates its attack. Recently, a research team from Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Medical School discovered this missing link, which could potentially lead to novel methods of safeguarding the colon.
Published in the journal Nature, their study identifies a protein called claudin-4 as the crucial docking site for a bacterial toxin named BFT. Moreover, the scientists have already employed this discovery to create a molecular decoy that intercepts the toxin before it can harm colon cells, demonstrating its effectiveness in protecting mice from the toxin's damaging consequences.
This promising approach suggests a potential new strategy for preventing bacterial damage associated with colorectal cancer. The study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health.
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