Role of Immune Cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Effective inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) therapies can be formulated using the new knowledge on lymphoid cell maturity as per a study at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in the journal Science Immunology. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are lymphocytic cells — a type of immune cells that are found in the mucosa. They help maintain tissue function and are part of the immune system.

Earlier evidence emphasizes the role of ILCs during inflammation, thereby making them a promising target for IBD treatment. Hence, the study analyzed the role of ILCs in IBD as they develop into mature cells.

Immune Cells and IBD

IBD is a gastrointestinal disease characterized by a chronic inflammation of the gut mucosa. It is known to increase the risk of colon cancer. Although the disease mechanism is unknown (which adds a burden to limited treatments), genetic, environmental, and immunological factors are known to play a significant role.

“The function of ILCs changes during inflammation and therefore ILCs represent a promising therapeutic target for conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. Insight into how these cells develop from immature cells into mature cells in tissue helps us understand how they influence tissue function or inflammation in mucosa and how they can be manipulated for therapeutic purposes,” says the study’s first author Efthymia Kokkinou, a doctoral student at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge at Karolinska Institutet.

“These studies are important since the right choice of effective treatment can reduce both personal suffering and societal costs,” says Jenny Mjösberg, associate professor at the same department at Karolinska Institutet and the study’s senior author.

Source-Medindia