Study: Fungus May Play Key Role in Crohn’s Disease

Researchers may be one step closer to identifying the cause of Crohn’s disease, the debilitating gastrointestinal condition that affects 700,000 Americans.  

According to a study published in the journal mBio, fungus may play a role in the development of the inflammatory disease, which causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss. Although the cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown, it is believed that genetics and a poor immune system are contributing factors. Some research suggests that certain types of bacteria are connected to the disease, which has no cure and can be life threatening.

For the mBio study, a research team from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Ohio evaluated the bacteria and fungi of people with Crohn's disease. They compared that data to their first degree relatives in nine families in northern France and Belgium. They further compared those results with individuals from four families in the same geographic area who did not have the disease.

They found that people who have Crohn’s disease are more likely than those who don’t to have two types of bacteria (E.coli and Serratia marcescens) and one fungus (Candida tropicalis). The presence of these bacteria coupled with the fungus  “was significantly higher compared to their healthy relatives, suggesting that the bacteria and fungus interact in the intestines.”

Further research conducted in a test tube revealed that the bacteria and the fungus work together to create a biofilm that attaches to a part of the intestines and creates inflammation that results in the symptoms associated with Crohn's disease.

This study marks the first time that fungus has been connected to Crohn’s disease in humans. It also is the first time that Serratia marcescens has been named as a potential contributor to the disease.

"Among hundreds of bacterial and fungal species inhabiting the intestines, it is telling that the three we identified were so highly correlated in Crohn’s patients,” says Professor Mahmoud Ghannoum, the study’s lead author. “Furthermore, we found strong similarities in what may be called the ‘gut profiles’ of the Crohn’s-affected families, which were strikingly different from the Crohn’s-free families.”

He continued, "We have to be careful, though, and not solely attribute Crohn’s disease to the bacterial and fungal makeups of our intestines. For example, we know that family members also share diet and environment to significant degrees. Further research is needed to be even more specific in identifying precipitators and contributors of Crohn’s."

To learn more, read the entire study.