Normal gut bacteria vital for keeping intestinal lining intact

Gut bacteria that aid in digestion help keep the intestinal lining intact according to new research  reported online in the journal Immunity. The study authors, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, US, say that their findings could lead to new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and a wide range of other disorders.  "By adding probiotics in the form of indole 3-propionic acid (IPA)-producing bacteria to the intestine or by administering IPA directly, we may be able to prevent or treat IBD and other inflammatory disorders that occur when the intestinal epithelium has been compromised," said Sridhar Mani, M.D., a co- author of the paper and professor of medicine and of genetics and the Miriam Mandel Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research at Einstein and attending physician, oncology at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and Montefiore Medical Center.