Inaugural Lecture Series 2007/08 - University of Liverpool

Scientists link cattle illness to Crohn’s disease
Scientists at the University
have found how a bacterium,
known to cause illness in
cattle may cause Crohn’s
disease in humans.
Crohn’s is a condition that
affects one in 800 people in
the UK and causes chronic
intestinal inflammation, leading
to pain, bleeding and
diarrhoea.
The team found that a
bacterium called
Mycobacterium
paratuberculosis releases a
molecule that prevents a type of
white blood cell from killing
E.coli bacteria found in the body.
E.coli is known to be present within
Crohn’s disease tissue in increased numbers.
Schh... African rituals and the King of Drinks
Photo credit: Peter Coenen
It was the archetypal British Colonial
cocktail. Now a University historian
has completed a research project which
crowns a gin and tonic as the ‘King of
Drinks’
Dr Dmitri Van Den Bersselaar’s main
interest is West African history. Schnapps
gin is a massively important product in
West African societies, however, they do
not drink it - they pour it on the ground
whilst praying to the gods and ancestors
and use it as an indication of the status of
chiefs and elders.
It is thought that the Mycobacteria make their way
into the body’s system via cows’ milk and other
dairy products. In cattle it can cause an illness
called Johne's disease - a wasting, diarrhoeal
condition. Until now, however, it has been unclear
how this bacterium could trigger intestinal
inflammation in humans.
Professor Jon Rhodes, from the School of Clinical
Sciences, said: “Mycobacterium paratuberculosis
has been found within Crohn’s disease tissue but
there has been much controversy concerning its
role in the disease. We have now shown that
these Mycobacteria release a complex
molecule containing a sugar, called mannose.
This molecule prevents a type of white blood
cells, called macrophages, from killing
internalised E.coli.”
Scientists have previously shown that people with
Crohn’s disease have increased numbers of a
Dmitri said: “The history of the product
and its use is an interesting one. In the
1900s it was a very fashionable and
modern drink and indicated that you were
connected to the modern and international
world. But, surprisingly, by the 1950s it was
considered ‘traditional’ – an essential
ingredient of African ritual.
“We see a similar thing happen in
Britain with tea; it was modern and
fashionable to begin with and then became
a mass consumer good. Gin in Africa,
however, went in the opposite direction: it
has become less widely consumed
since 1900.”
The marketing efforts of European gin
producers and trading companies largely
failed in Africa. It is though that this is an
example of the power of the African people
to define a product in the face of
commercial campaigns, colonialism and
Christian missionaries. Through the history
of the product it is possible to see how
identities and definitions of community in
colonial and post-colonial West Africa
were formed.
Dmitri’s research has been turned into
a book which has been well received in
‘sticky’ type of E.coli and weakened ability to fight
off intestinal bacteria. The suppressive effect of
the Mycobacterial molecule on this type of
white blood cell suggests it is a likely mechanism
for weakening the body’s defence against
the bacteria.
Professor Rhodes added: "We also found that this
bacterium is a likely trigger for a circulating
antibody protein (ASCA) that is found in about
two thirds of patients with Crohn's disease,
suggesting that these people may have been
infected by the Mycobacterium."
The team is beginning clinical trials to assess
whether an antibiotic combination can be used to
target the bacteria contained in white blood cells
as a possible treatment for Crohn’s disease.
The research was funded by core and the
Medical Research Council and is published in
Gastroenterology.
Ghana and the Netherlands where it
became the focus of an exhibition, staged
at the Jenever Museum, which looks at
Dutch Aromatic Schnapps in Ghana. This
included a miniature bottles exhibit, where
the history of trade between Holland and
Ghana is traced, and examples of how gin
was used in rituals.
Photo credit: Collection Lucas Bols BV
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