Photo courtesy of Thaddeus Stappenbeck, Washington University School of Medicine.
Posted on 12/03/2002 6:35:03 AM PST by Junior
We humans often consider ourselves a branch apart from the rest of the tree of life, but researchers like Jeffrey Gordon keep reminding us of our true place in the world. Gordon, a molecular biologist at Washington University in St. Louis, has just shown that we depend on lowly bacteria to guide one of the crucial steps of infant growth, the development of the intestine. This finding could lead to new treatments for intestinal diseases and help us appreciate anew how tightly our fate is linked with that of even the simplest organisms.
From the moment an animal is born, it begins to acquire bacteria from the outside world. A diverse assortment of these bacteria take up residence in the mammalian gut, working to break down sugars that their hosts would otherwise be unable to digest. In return, the microbes enjoy a safe haven in the food-rich intestines. Gordon and his colleagues noticed that these bacterial communities grow and diversify just as the newborn's intestinal blood vessels mature into a complex network. This made the researchers suspect that the microbes could play a fundamental role in intestinal development.
|
| The inner surface of the mammalian small intestine is carpeted with tiny, fingerlike projections called villi, which work to increase the amount of nutrients the intestine can absorb. Bacteria live throughout the intestine; Paneth cells live in the gaps-called crypts-between villi and help control which bacteria grow in the gut. Photo courtesy of Thaddeus Stappenbeck, Washington University School of Medicine. |
 |
| Mice born and raised in the presence of everyday bacteria have intestines that develop normally, with complex capillary networks inside each villus (left, blood vessels marked in green). Mice that are raised in a sterile environment, however, have intestinal blood vessels that are stunted and sparse (right). Images by Thaddeus Stappenbeck, Washington University School of Medicine |
Because Paneth cells normally produce antibacterial proteins, which "help groom and shape the microflora of the gut," Gordon and his colleagues are interested in looking at the interaction at the molecular level to learn more about how the bacteria work in conjunction with intestinal cells. Understanding the complexity of this relationship, he says, could provide insight into the integral role that microbes play in our own overall development. "They have become master physiological chemists. They have developed chemical strategies that manipulate humans to benefit both them and us," he says.
Knowing what those chemical strategies are could help researchers develop drugs to ameliorate and prevent painful intestinal diseases. It could also provide a better understanding of how important microbes are to human health, Gordon says, and accentuate the interdependence of these two distinct branches on the tree of life.
— Posted 11/22/02
Stappenbeck, Thaddeus S., Lora V. Hooper, Jeffrey I. Gordon. "Developmental Regulation of Intestinal Angiogenesis by Indigenous Microbes via Paneth Cells." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition, November 13, 2002. http://www.pnas.org/papbyrecent.shtml.
Jeffrey Gordon's Web page can be found at: molecool.wustl.edu/gordon.html.
Oh, I'm sure I'm being hopelessly paranoid, but I see this as a subconscious slap at Christians. We humans, you see, are not special creations in the image of God. We're just animals, like all the other animals. Nothing special about us. In fact, us high-and-mighty humans wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for the little people -- the workers and toilers. It's the proletariat -- I mean, the bacteria -- that allow humans to have such comfortable lives.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.