Microbes present in the gut can affect the severity of kidney disease brought on by melamine poisoning, according to an international study led by Professor Wei Jia at the University of North Carolina in collaboration with the research group of Professor Jeremy Nicholson at Imperial College London.
In 2008, nearly 300,000 Chinese children were hospitalised with kidney disease brought on by supplies of powdered milk deliberately contaminated with melamine to boost the apparent protein content. Although melamine was known to combine with uric acid in the children's bodies to produce harmful kidney stones, the details of the reaction and the role of specific gut microbes were not well understood.
By studying how melamine contributes to the development of kidney stones in rats, the research groups have shown experimentally that gut microbes may be central to understanding melamine-induced kidney failure in humans.
The formation of kidney stones occurs when melamine reacts with cyanuric acid in the kidney to form crystals which cannot be dissolved in the bloodstream. According to the paper, published today in Science Translational Medicine, certain species of gut microbes are responsible for converting melamine into the toxic cyanuric acid, thereby accelerating the rate at which kidney stones are formed.
Tests on rats showed that the presence of microbes of the Klebsiella family tended to facilitate the process of melamine conversion, potentially making them key players in the formation of kidney stones. This study suggests that toxicity in this case is linked to the make-up of gut microbes in the poisoned organism.
"The metabolic activities of gut microbes strongly influence human health in profound ways and have been linked to the development of multiple medical problems ranging from autoimmune diseases, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease," said Professor Nicholson, head of the Department of Surgery an
'/>"/>
| Contact: Gilead Amit gda07@imperial.ac.uk 44-020-759-46702 Imperial College London Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Lack of energy an enemy to antibiotic-resistant microbes
2. FASEB SRC announces conference: Gastrointestinal Tract XV: Epithelia, Microbes, Inflammation & Cancer
3. Microbiologists eavesdrop on the hidden lives of microbes
4. They hunt, they kill, they cheat: Single-celled algae shed light on social lives of microbes
5. Even in same vineyard, different microbes may create variations in wine grapes
6. Not without my microbes
7. Dark Ages scourge enlightens modern struggle between man and microbes
8. Cheering microbes into space
9. My microbes
10. Ancient microbes found living beneath the icy surface of Antarctic lake
11. UIC scientists find ancient microbes in salty, ice-sealed Antarctic lake
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |