PhD Student
Thomas Hagemann Gutter
Phone: +49-7071 29-81534 / 29-81529
Email: thomas.hagemann@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Summary
The intestinal microbiota of healthy humans harbours up to 70% Firmicutes and around 30% Bacteroidetes whereas Enterobacteriaceae are only represented in a very low abundance. Various studies revealed a compositional shift of intestinal microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients characterized by a decrease of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes and an outgrowth of Enterobacteriaceae in states of acute inflammation. We showed an association of a commensal E. coli strain with induction of intestinal inflammation in different mouse models of IBD and association of Bacteroides vulgatus with prevention from E. coli-induced inflammation. Therefore, understanding the survival strategies of E. coli in competition or symbiosis with Bacteroidetes for gut colonization represents a major challenge, as these mechanisms contribute to the composition of the intestinal microbiota and thereby mediate either immune balance or the disease defining state of intestinal inflammation.
