Bacterial Infection Promotes Colon Tumorigenesis in ApcMin/+ Mice

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 184; no. 2; pp. 227 - 230
• Main Authors: Newman, Joseph V., Kosaka, Takeo, Sheppard, Barbara J., Fox, James G., Schauer, David B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 15.07.2001; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Experimental bacterial diseases and models; Experimental mycoses and models; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Mycoses; Cell proliferation; Spirillaceae; Helicobacter pylori; Bacteria; Benign neoplasm; Colon; Citrobacter; Enterobacteriaceae; Tumor suppressor gene; Human; Spirillales; Digestive system; Gut; Rodentia; Inflammation; Malignant tumor; Suppressor gene; Infection; Vertebrata; Allele; Chronic; Mammalia; Mouse; Risk factor; Bacteriosis; Epithelial cell; Models; Mutation
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/321998

The Min mouse, which has a germ line mutation in 1 allele of the Apc tumor suppressor gene, is a model for the early steps in human colorectal cancer. Helicobacter pylori infection, a known risk factor for gastric cancer in humans, causes chronic inflammation and increased epithelial cell proliferation in the stomach. Infection with the bacterium Citrobacter rodentium is known to increase epithelial cell proliferation and to promote chemically initiated tumors in the colon of mice. Min mice infected with C. rodentium at 1 month of age were found to have a 4-fold increase in the number of colonic adenomas at 6 months of age, compared with uninfected Min mice. Most of the colonic adenomas in the infected Min mice were in the distal colon, where C. rodentium–induced hyperplasia occurs. These data demonstrate that bacterial infection promotes colon tumor formation in genetically susceptible mice