Changes in bacterial enzymes and PCR profiles of fecal bacteria from a patient with ulcerative colitis before and after antimicrobial treatments

A 26-year-old female patient, suffering from recurrent attacks of ulcerative colitis accompanied by extraintestinal symptoms (erythema nodosum and pyoderma gangrenosum), was evaluated for the effect of antibacterial agents on the intestinal bacteria and their enzymatic activities. The enzymes were assayed both at the onset of disease symptoms and after treatment with each of five drug regimens (fluconazole and cefadroxil, cefuroxime axetil and cestriaxone sodium, ciprofloxacin and cestriaxone sodium, ciprofloxacin alone, and ciprofloxacin, metronidazole, and cephalexin). The activities of azoreductase, nitroreductase, oxidoreductase, glucuronidase, and sulfatase were generally lower following all of the treatments, especially when ciprofloxacin was included. The DNA from each sample was amplified by PCR, using random primers. Profiles of amplified DNA on agarose gels showed different patterns, indicating differences in the microflora before and after the antimicrobial treatments. The clinical response to antibacterial therapy was consistent with the decreased bacterial enzymatic activities and changes in the microbial population. Ciprofloxacin, which was associated with the most dramatic falls in enzymatic activity, also had the best clinical results. We conclude that intestinal bacteria and their enzymes play important roles in ulcerative colitis and that population changes can be monitored using PCR profiles.