Potential new target for treatment of colitis identified

Washington, March 19 (ANI): Scientists have identified potential new target for treatment of colitis and other inflammatory bowel diseases.

They have found that a protein made by a gene already associated with a handful of human inflammatory immune diseases plays a pivotal role in protecting the intestinal tract from colitis.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital researchers led the study, which points to possible new strategies for combating colitis, a chronic inflammatory disease associated with colon damage, resulting in abdominal pain, bleeding and other symptoms.

Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti, assistant member of the St. Jude Department of Immunology and the paper's senior author, said that the work also expands the link between the Nlrp3 protein and Crohn's disease.

Researchers demonstrated that in a mouse model of colitis, Nlrp3 plays a pivotal role in keeping the intestinal tract intact, thus preventing further damage that occurs if intestinal bacteria leak into the body.

Nlrp3 works by anchoring a large, multi-protein complex known as the Nlrp3 inflammasome where the messenger protein interleukin 18 (IL-18) is made.

IL-18 belongs to a family of molecules known as cytokines, which shape the body's immune response. In this study, researchers showed IL-18 produced by the Nlrp3 inflammasome helped mice maintain healthy colon by triggering production of more epithelial cells to compensate for those damaged or destroyed by colitis.

"This paper provides the basis for more effective, potentially disease-modifying approaches to treatment," Kanneganti said.

The study appears in the March 18 online edition of the journal Immunity. (ANI)