An international team of researchers have discovered a link between a common bacterial toxin found in the gut and inflammatory bowel disease.

The researchers at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK, and a team of scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found what they termed a ‘surprise’ link between microcin B17, a well-known toxin produced by E. coli bacteria, and IBD.

The research is published in the journal Cell.

According to lead author Professor Tony Maxwell the research scientists stumbled across their finding by chance.

“We have been studying this toxin for its antibacterial properties and we were contacted by Professor Richard Blumberg who leads the Boston group for quite different reasons – they thought there might be a connection between the toxin and IBD, ” he said.

The two teams worked together to show that breakdown products from the toxin seem to trigger gut inflammation that is characteristic of IBD.

“The bacteria that live inside us have a lot of impact on well-being and the twist here is that it’s not the E. coli bacteria but the toxin that’s produced by the bacteria that appears to have an effect,” explained Professor Maxwell.

“They produce these toxins to kill their neighbours in their fight for ecological niches but it appears that the breakdown products of the toxin can initiate gut inflammation,” he added.