Toxin may drive ulcerative colitis by weakening gut immune defence

Credit: Getty Images/Pornpak Khunatorn

By Olivia Bowthorpe

Ulcerative colitis may be partly driven by a variant of the bacterium Aeromonas that kills protective immune cells in the gut, according to new research.

This was found in seven out of 10 patients with the condition, which is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), affecting the lining of the colon and rectum, leading to ulcers and bleeding.