Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks the intestine, leading to chronic inflammation and bowel damage. One unique feature of IBD is the growth of new lymphatic vessels—tiny tubes responsible for draining fluids and immune cells to maintain balance in the body. However, […]

Microorganisms are critical to the health and disease of Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients. As such, manipulating them has great therapeutic potential. Indeed, there is now evidence that the engineered microorganisms can treat intestinal inflammation through the delivery of therapeutic proteins. However, this new class of therapies based on living cells have so far been optimized […]

We currently lack cures for chronic intestinal diseases. Despite incredible advances in understanding and targeting inflammation that promotes diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, many patients develop resistance to treatment, suggesting alternative disease drivers beyond immune cells and the inflammatory molecules they produce. While the gut has remarkable regenerative capacity due to specialized stem cells that […]

Several lines of evidence have implicated stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress) of intestinal cells to the pathogenesis of IBD. ER stress is a common feature in tissues from individuals with IBD, and mutations in genes in ER homeostasis are risk factors for both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. In animal models, genetic deletion […]

Glucocorticoids are the mainstay treatment to quell acute flare events in the context of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. These steroids are taken systemically and have broad and long-lasting side effects. As a result, alternative, safer approaches are sought. We have recently discovered that proteins made by the gut microbiota found predominantly in healthy individuals trigger the […]

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) remains difficult to treat, partly because we do not fully understand how dying cells within the intestinal lining influence immune responses and tissue repair. Different types of cell death—apoptosis (non-inflammatory), necroptosis, pyroptosis (inflammatory)—occur in IBD, but how immune responses to them shape healing remains unclear. When intestinal epithelial cells die through […]

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) is caused by environmental triggers and a dysregulated immune system. Interactions between certain bacteria, known as pathobionts, and the gut immune system contribute to IBD in animal models. However, we understand little of the types of pathobionts that might be influencing human IBD. […]

We and others have recently shown that intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) are central players in immune responses during IBD. They can both increase or calm the inflammation by secreting molecules and interacting with immune cells during IBD. Interferons are central modulators of an immune response, and Interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-1 is a non-redundant transcription factor […]

The human gut is home to trillions of microbes including bacteria, viruses and fungi. These microbes play a crucial role in our health, particularly in diseases like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which affects millions worldwide. Surprisingly, not only the microbes that naturally reside in our intestines but also those we consume through our diet, especially […]

Recent studies show that the communication between the gut and the brain, known as the neuroimmune axis, plays a critical, possibly bidirectional, role in health and disease, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Research using mice has revealed that brain activity linked to ulcerative colitis can be traced to specific neurons in the brain. Critically, reactivating […]