A mechanism that allows the gut epithelium to signal the immune system to repair tissue damage, which could help inflammatory bowel disease patients, has been revealed in a study published in PNAS.
Here are five takeaways:
1. The researchers found that a part of the body's immune system, called group 2 innate lymphoid cells, are key to orchestrating restoration of the intestinal barrier.
2. The study showed that when the gut lining is damaged during disease, epithelial cells produce and release a molecule called interleukin 33.
3. The molecule acts as a chemical alarm system that activates neighboring cells at the site of the injured tissue.
4. Group 2 innate lymphoid cells act as first responders to this alarm and produce a growth factor called amphiregulin, which can help in rebuilding the intestinal barrier.
5. Since a defect in that repair system is seen in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, restoring tissue-protective repair mechanisms could reduce the chronic inflammation and tissue damage that often accompany these two forms of IBD.