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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a common gastrointestinal disorder, often is described as a “functional disorder,” meaning that it has no known biological basis.
Animal studies have shown that Campylobacter jejuni infection can precipitate an illness much like IBS and that a bacterial toxin called cytolethal distending toxin B (CdtB) might be indirectly responsible. Antibodies to CdtB crossreact with a host gut-cell protein called vinculin. A team from Los Angeles and Boston looked for antibodies to CdtB and to vinculin in 2375 patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS (D-IBS), 142 patients with inflammatory bowel disease, 121 patients with celiac disease, and 43 healthy control subjects. Antibodies to both CdtB and vinculin were significantly …