Abstract & Overview
The study of the intestinal sulfate-reducing bacteria, the process of dissimilatory sulfate reduction and accumulation of hydrogen sulfide, as well as their role in the inflammatory bowel diseases, including ulcerative colitis, in animals and human have increasingly attracted the attention of scientists. New opportunities for studying inflammatory bowel disease and the assessment of the effectiveness of its treatment is an urgent problem of modern biology and medicine. In this review, brief characteristics of these bacteria and their mechanism of dissimilatory sulfate reduction were described based on modern literature data and own research. The characteristics of substrates for intestinal sulfate-reducing bacteria and the thermodynamic properties of their electron donors were also described. Special attention was paid to the mechanism and stages of sulfate dissimilation including role of enzymes involved in this process. Based on our results, general scheme of dissimilatory sulfate reduction showing the activity of each enzyme of the process was demonstrated. The described physiological and biochemical parameters are important for a more detailed understanding of sulfate dissimilation in the human and animal bowel, as well as studying the mechanisms of action of the antimicrobial prophylactics and the therapy against specific components involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. It is also essential for understanding the mechanisms of bowel diseases and for evaluating the effectiveness of its therapy.