Lecture 17- GI infections Flashcards
(90 cards)
the gut is a tube- great way to get toxins into the body. name some potential toxins
- Chemical
- Bacterial
- Viruses
- Protozoa
- Nematodes (roundworms)
- Cestodes (tapeworms)
- Trematodes (flukes)
Main defence against toxins:
commensal bacteria
- When we have an imbalance in commensal bacteria , ingesting other toxins are more likely to make us ill
role of bacteria in the colon
produce short chain fatty acids (SCFA)
name 3 SCFA
butyrate
acetate
propionate
butyrate
energy source for colonocytes, helps regulate gut environment
- Acetate-
involved in cholesterol metabolism
- Propionate-
helps regulate satiety
what icnreases composition of gut microbiotia
high fibre diet
- …………..disrupt diversity of gut microbiota (bad)
Sweeteners
- Gluten free diet people without gluten sensitivity or coelicac disease-
have a lower numbers of key species
drug which causes increased GI infections
- proton pump inhibitors
- antibiotics (meat) linked to obesity
- Probiotics
– live bacteria and yeasts put in foodà probs die in stomach
- Prebiotics-
essentially food for the microbiota (accessible carbs and fibreà seen as more useful
GI defences
- Sight , smell, memory
- Saliva (bacteriostatic secretions)
- Gastric acid (acidic environment)
- Small intestinalsecretions (bile)
- Colonic mucus
- Anaerobic environment (small bowel, colon)

proximal gut microbiome
*
- Proximal gut is relatively sterile
- Stomach is microaerophilic environment e.g. H.pylori (not anaerobic yet)
how much bacteria in the colon
- 10^11 bacteria in the colon (anaerobic environment)
- More than ………of faecal matter is bacteria
20%
- Benefits of gut microbiome
- Harmful bacterial cannot compete for nutrients
- Microbiome produces antimicrobial substances
- Helps to develop newborns immune system
- Produces certain nutrients (VitK)
- Microbiome started when we
come out the birth canal
obesity and fut microbiota
seems to be less diverse pop of bacteria
- Inflammatory bowel disease-
less diversity
- Microbiome composition affects response
to chemotherapy
- Microbiome competition affects
insulin response to food
Faecal microbiota transplant (FMT)
Stool is a biologically active complex mixture of living organisms with therapeutic potential
- Route of admin
- NG/duodenal tube (unappealing)
- Upper GI endoscopy
- Colonoscopy
- Transplant can be in caecum (allowed to move throughout colon)
- Distributed throughout length of the colon













