Mesenchymal cells are the building blocks of the connective tissue that provides rigidity and structural support for most organs. Although mesenchymal cells comprise the most abundant cell type in the intestine, their role in regulating intestinal inflammation is poorly understood. In this project we study the role of mesenchymal cells in colitis, the most prevalent […]

The human intestine is home to trillions of bacteria of hundreds of different types, which are collectively referred to as the gut microbiota. Ideally, these microbes exist in a balanced state, where both microbe and man benefit from their presence. However, imbalances in the microbiota, which are referred to as ‘dysbiosis’, have been suggested to […]

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) can be a devastating illness. For reasons that are not clear, the cells that line the intestine in patients with IBD mount inappropriate immune responses toward the harmless bacteria that normally inhabit our gastrointestinal tracts. Treatments for IBD therefore involve suppressing immune responses to limit the damage caused by this immune […]

Inflammation is an integral part of immune defense against pathogens or tissue damage. However, inappropriate or prolonged inflammation has deleterious consequences and underlies many chronic diseases, especially inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like Crohn’s disease and colitis. Specialized immune sensors that reside inside the cell cytosol are of particular interest in IBD, because mutations in the […]

Individuals with mutations in the receptor for IL-10 suffer from very early onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease. These patients are typically unresponsive to conventional therapies and have a poor long-term prognosis. The only available curative therapy is bone marrow transplantation from a suitable donor, which carries significant risks and often is not available. We propose to […]

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is characterized by chronic intestinal inflammation, which causes damage to the intestinal epithelium. This inflammatory response in the small and large bowel is thought to be initiated by interactions between genes, environment, and microbes, which reside in the gastrointestinal tract. However, the mechanisms by which environmental factors modulate susceptibility to IBD […]

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is caused by the accumulation of genetic, microbial and lifestyle factors that increase the susceptibility to the disease beyond a red line. The number and complexity of such factors makes prediction of pathogenesis and therapy particularly difficult. Nevertheless, clinical and experimental observations demonstrate a strong association of early life events with […]

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) show that the human gene ITLN1 is associated with Crohn’s disease. A common form of this gene is present in a substantial fraction of individuals with the disease. The functional significance of this association is unknown. A critical step in using genetic information to develop treatments with the potential to […]

Microbial communities living on the surfaces of the mammalian intestinal tract likely play a role in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), but this role is not yet fully understood. We will develop two innovative technologies that will help researchers visualize and quantify which microbes live on intestinal surfaces, where these microbes are located relative to each […]

In IBD, the microbes within the intestinal tract, collectively known as the microbiota, are targeted by inappropriate immune responses. There are also a number of changes in the microbiota composition that are thought to drive or amplify IBD pathology. One of these is the expansion of E. coli. However, our preliminary data has identified select […]