A growth factor protein produced by rare immune cells in the intestine can protect against the effects of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a new discovery from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers.
In their study, published Jan. 31 in Nature Immunology, the researchers found that the growth factor, HB-EGF, is produced in response to gut inflammation by a set of immune-regulating cells called ILC3s. These immune cells reside in many organs including the intestines, though their numbers are known to be depleted in the inflamed intestines of IBD patients.
The researchers showed in experiments in mice that this growth factor can powerfully counter the harmful effects of a key driver of intestinal inflammation called TNF. In doing so, ILC3s protect gut-lining cells when they would otherwise die and cause a breach in the intestinal barrier.
Dr. Gregory Sonnenberg
“We’ve discovered a new cellular pathway that is essential to protect against gut inflammation. This discovery could lead to a better understanding of IBD pathogenesis and new strategies to treat this disease” said study senior author Dr. Gregory Sonnenberg, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology in medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology and a scientist in the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Weill Cornell Medicine.
IBD, a disease category including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, features chronic gut inflammation and many potential follow-on effects including arthritis and colorectal cancer. The condition appears to be quite common in the United States; a survey-based study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 suggested that more than 1 percent of the U.S. population—more than three million people—were living with IBD. Current treatments help some but not all patients.
Dr. Sonnenberg and his laboratory have found in recent studies that ILC3s play a key role in protecting the gut from harmful inflammation and are depleted in human patients who have IBD or colon cancer. In the new study, the team sought a more precise understanding of how ILC3s fight against IBD’s inflammatory effects. To continue reading, click here.