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©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 28, 2014; 20(28): 9468-9475
Published online Jul 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i28.9468
Published online Jul 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i28.9468
Ulcerative colitis as a polymicrobial infection characterized by sustained broken mucus barrier
Shui-Jiao Chen, Xiao-Wei Liu, Jian-Ping Liu, Xi-Yan Yang, Fang-Gen Lu, Department of Gastroenterology, 2nd Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan Province, China
Author contributions: Chen SJ and Liu XW wrote the paper; Liu JP, Yang XY and Lu FG outlined the review; all authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81270471
Correspondence to: Dr. Fang-Gen Lu, Department of Gastroenterology, 2nd Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Furong, Changsha 410011, Hunan Province, China. lufanggenyao@163.com
Telephone: +86-731-85295035 Fax: +86-731-88944818
Received: January 18, 2014
Revised: February 24, 2014
Accepted: April 30, 2014
Published online: July 28, 2014
Processing time: 188 Days and 14.1 Hours
Revised: February 24, 2014
Accepted: April 30, 2014
Published online: July 28, 2014
Processing time: 188 Days and 14.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Long-term or even life-long medication bothers patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Existing treatment ignores the cause of UC, so establishing the etiology of UC is the key to resolving this problem. UC can be viewed as a polymicrobial infection that is characterized by a sustained broken mucus barrier with subsequent bacterial migration toward the mucosa and proliferation of complex bacterial biofilms on the epithelial surface. Regulation of mucus secretion and viscosity, suppression of bacterial biofilms, probiotics and immunostimulation should be increasingly considered to treat UC.