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Th9 cells in inflammatory bowel diseases

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Abstract

Inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic, relapsing, immunologically mediated disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Emerging evidence suggests a critical functional role of transcription factors and T cell-related cytokines in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Gut-residing T cells from patients with inflammatory bowel disease produce high amounts of IL-9. Experimental models of colitis highlighted that IL-9-producing T cells critically interfered with an intact barrier function of the intestinal epithelium by impacting cellular proliferation and tight junction molecules. The blockade of IL-9 was suited to significantly ameliorate the disease activity and severity in experimental models of inflammatory bowel disease thereby suggesting that targeting IL-9 might function as a novel targeted approach for therapy.

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Abbreviations

CD:

Crohn’s disease

UC:

Ulcerative colitis

IBD:

Inflammatory bowel disease

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the DFG grant WE4656/2-2, SFB 1181/B02 and Clinical Research Unit 257.

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  1. Department of Medicine 1, Kussmaul Campus for Medical Research, Ludwig Demling Endoscopy Center of Excellence, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

    Benno Weigmann & Markus F. Neurath

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  1. Benno Weigmann
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  2. Markus F. Neurath
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Correspondence to Markus F. Neurath.

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This article is a contribution to the special issue on Th9 Cells in Immunity and Immunopathological Diseases - Guest Editors: Mark Kaplan and Markus Neurath

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Weigmann, B., Neurath, M.F. Th9 cells in inflammatory bowel diseases. Semin Immunopathol 39, 89–95 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00281-016-0603-z

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