Abstract
The pathogenesis of all immune-mediated inflammatory diseases has been carefully studied over the past several decades, but it is only recently that we have come to appreciate common pathways and genes. This is especially true for the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, where a keener appreciation of the contributions of genetics, environment, and immune response have been dissected. In fact, in many ways, IBD has become the model for studying such disorders. The complex nature of interactions is continuing to be defined, and novel therapies targeting defects in these interactions have been developed and are being tested in the clinic. The era of bench to bedside has finally matured, and cures for debilitating diseases are now in sight. This review describes our current state of knowledge of each component of IBD pathogenesis. What has evolved is a clearer picture and novel targets for therapy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ogura Y, Bonen DK, Inohara N, Nicolae DL, Chen FF, Ramos R, et al. A frameshift mutation in NOD2 associated with susceptibility to Crohn’s disease. Nature. 2001;411:603–6.
Hugot JP, Chamaillard M, Zouali H, Lesage S, Cezard JP, Belaiche J, et al. Association of NOD2 leucine-rich repeat variants with susceptibility to Crohn’s disease. Nature. 2001;411:599–603.
Peltekova VD, Wintle RF, Rubin LA, Amos CI, Huang Q, Gu X, et al. Functional variants of OCTN cation transporter genes are associated with Crohn disease. Nat Genet. 2004;36:471–5.
Brant SR, Panhuysen CI, Nicolae D, Reddy DM, Bonen DK, Karaliukas R, et al. MDR1 Ala893 polymorphism is associated with inflammatory bowel disease. Am J Hum Genet. 2003;73:1282–92.
Hampe J, Franke A, Rosenstiel P, Till A, Teuber M, Huse K, et al. A genome-wide association scan of nonsynonymous SNPs identifies a susceptibility variant for Crohn disease in ATG16L1. Nat Genet. 2007;39:207–11.
Rioux JD, Xavier RJ, Taylor KD, Silverberg MS, Goyette P, Huett A, et al. Genome-wide association study identifies new susceptibility loci for Crohn disease and implicates autophagy in disease pathogenesis. Nat Genet. 2007;39:596–604.
Duerr RH, Taylor KD, Brant SR, Rioux JD, Silverberg MS, Daly MJ, et al. A genome-wide association study identifies IL23R as an inflammatory bowel disease gene. Science. 2006;314:1461–3.
Podolsky DK. Lessons from genetic models of inflammatory bowel disease. Acta Gastroenterol Belg. 1997;60:163–5.
Strober W, Fuss I, Mannon P. The fundamental basis of inflammatory bowel disease. J Clin Invest. 2007;117:514–21.
Braun J, Targan SR. Multiparameter analysis of immunogenetic mechanisms in clinical diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2006;579:209–18.
Duchmann R, Kaiser I, Hermann E, Mayet W, Ewe K, Meyer zum Buschenfelde KH. Tolerance exists towards resident intestinal flora but is broken in active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Clin Exp Immunol. 1995;102:448–55.
Mowat AM, Viney JL. The anatomical basis of intestinal immunity. Immunol Rev. 1997;156:145–66.
Maul J, Loddenkemper C, Mundt P, Berg E, Giese T, Stallmach A, et al. Peripheral and intestinal regulatory CD4+ CD25(high) T cells in inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology. 2005;128:1868–78.
Mottet C, Uhlig HH, Powrie F. Cutting edge: cure of colitis by CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells. J Immunol. 2003;170:3939–43.
Brimnes J, Allez M, Dotan I, Shao L, Nakazawa A, Mayer L. Defects in CD8+ regulatory T cells in the lamina propria of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. J Immunol. 2005;174:5814–22.
Sachar DB. Genomics and phenomics in Crohn’s disease. Gastroenterology. 2002;122:1161–2.
Spencer DM, Veldman GM, Banerjee S, Willis J, Levine AD. Distinct inflammatory mechanisms mediate early versus late colitis in mice. Gastroenterology. 2002;122:94–105.
Rutgeerts P, Van Assche G, Vermeire S. Optimizing anti-TNF treatment in inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology. 2004;126:1593–610.
Halme L, Paavola-Sakki P, Turunen U, Lappalainen M, Farkkila M, Kontula K. Family and twin studies in inflammatory bowel disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2006;12:3668–72.
Orholm M, Binder V, Sorensen TI, Rasmussen LP, Kyvik KO. Concordance of inflammatory bowel disease among Danish twins. Results of a nationwide study. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2000;35:1075–81.
Satsangi J, Parkes M, Jewell DP, Bell JI. Genetics of inflammatory bowel disease. Clin Sci (Lond). 1998;94:473–8.
Bernstein CN, Rawsthorne P, Cheang M, Blanchard JF. A population-based case control study of potential risk factors for IBD. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006;101:993–1002.
Brant SR, Shugart YY. Inflammatory bowel disease gene hunting by linkage analysis: rationale, methodology, and present status of the field. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2004;10:300–11.
Esters N, Pierik M, van Steen K, Vermeire S, Claessens G, Joossens S, et al. Transmission of CARD15 (NOD2) variants within families of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2004;99:299–305.
Weiss B, Shamir R, Bujanover Y, Waterman M, Hartman C, Fradkin A, et al. NOD2/CARD15 mutation analysis and genotype-phenotype correlation in Jewish pediatric patients compared with adults with Crohn’s disease. J Pediatr. 2004;145:208–12.
Abreu MT, Taylor KD, Lin YC, Hang T, Gaiennie J, Landers CJ, et al. Mutations in NOD2 are associated with fibrostenosing disease in patients with Crohn’s disease. Gastroenterology. 2002;123:679–88.
Halfvarson J, Bodin L, Tysk C, Lindberg E, Jarnerot G. Inflammatory bowel disease in a Swedish twin cohort: a long-term follow-up of concordance and clinical characteristics. Gastroenterology. 2003;124:1767–73.
Halfvarson J, Jess T, Bodin L, Jarnerot G, Munkholm P, Binder V, et al. Longitudinal concordance for clinical characteristics in a Swedish–Danish twin population with inflammatory bowel disease. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2007;13:1536–44.
Chiba M, Fukushima T, Horie Y, Iizuka M, Masamune O. No Mycobacterium paratuberculosis detected in intestinal tissue, including Peyer’s patches and lymph follicles, of Crohn’s disease. J Gastroenterol. 1998;33:482–7.
Drossman DA. Presidential address: gastrointestinal illness and the biopsychosocial model. Psychosom Med. 1998;60:258–67.
Medzhitov R, Janeway C Jr. Innate immune recognition: mechanisms and pathways. Immunol Rev. 2000;173:89–97.
Janeway CA Jr, Bottomly K. Signals and signs for lymphocyte responses. Cell. 1994;76:275–85.
Medzhitov R, Janeway CA Jr. Innate immune recognition and control of adaptive immune responses. Semin Immunol. 1998;10:351–3.
Huang JS, Noack D, Rae J, Ellis BA, Newbury R, Pong AL, et al. Chronic granulomatous disease caused by a deficiency in p47(phox) mimicking Crohn’s disease. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2004;2:690–5.
Schinella RA, Greco MA, Cobert BL, Denmark LW, Cox RP. Hermansky–Pudlak syndrome with granulomatous colitis. Ann Int Med. 1980;92:20–3.
Dieckgraefe BK, Korzenik JR. Treatment of active Crohn’s disease with recombinant human granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Lancet. 2002;360:1478–80.
Kugathasan S, Saubermann LJ, Smith L, Kou D, Itoh J, Binion DG, et al. Mucosal T-cell immunoregulation varies in early and late inflammatory bowel disease. Gut. 2007;56:1696–705.
Brown SJ, Mayer L. The immune response in inflammatory bowel disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2007;102:2058–69.
Fuss IJ, Heller F, Boirivant M, Leon F, Yoshida M, Fichtner-Feigl S, et al. Nonclassical CD1d-restricted NK T cells that produce IL-13 characterize an atypical Th2 response in ulcerative colitis. J Clin Invest. 2004;113:1490–7.
Fuss IJ, Neurath M, Boirivant M, Klein JS, de la Motte C, Strong SA, et al. Disparate CD4+ lamina propria (LP) lymphokine secretion profiles in inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn’s disease LP cells manifest increased secretion of IFN-gamma, whereas ulcerative colitis LP cells manifest increased secretion of IL-5. J Immunol. 1996;157:1261–70.
van Assche G. Emerging drugs to treat Crohn’s disease. Expert Opin Emerg Drugs. 2007;12:49–59.
Kobayashi K, Kaneda K, Kasama T. Immunopathogenesis of delayed-type hypersensitivity. Microsc Res Tech. 2001;53:241–5.
Glimcher LH. Trawling for treasure: tales of T-bet. Nat Immunol. 2007;8:448–50.
Berlin C, Berg EL, Briskin MJ, Andrew DP, Kilshaw PJ, Holzmann B, et al. Alpha 4 beta 7 integrin mediates lymphocyte binding to the mucosal vascular addressin MAdCAM-1. Cell. 1993;74:185–95.
MacDonald TT, Bajaj-Elliott M, Pender SL. T cells orchestrate intestinal mucosal shape and integrity. Immunol Today. 1999;20:505–10.
Alber G, Al-Robaiy S, Kleinschek M, Knauer J, Krumbholz P, Richter J, Schoeneberger S, Schuetze N, Schulz S, Toepfer K, Voigtlaender R, Lehmann J, Mueller U. Induction of immunity and inflammation by interleukin-12 family members. Ernst Schering Res Found Workshop 2006:107–27.
Hunter CA. New IL-12-family members: IL-23 and IL-27, cytokines with divergent functions. Nat Rev Immunol. 2005;5:521–31.
Elloumi-Zghal H, Barbouche MR, Chemli J, Bejaoui M, Harbi A, Snoussi N, et al. Clinical and genetic heterogeneity of inherited autosomal recessive susceptibility to disseminated Mycobacterium bovis bacille calmette-guerin infection. J Infect Dis. 2002;185:1468–75.
Sakai T, Matsuoka M, Aoki M, Nosaka K, Mitsuya H. Missense mutation of the interleukin-12 receptor beta1 chain-encoding gene is associated with impaired immunity against Mycobacterium avium complex infection. Blood. 2001;97:2688–94.
Weaver CT, Hatton RD, Mangan PR, Harrington LE. IL-17 family cytokines and the expanding diversity of effector T cell lineages. Annu Rev Immunol. 2007;25:821–52.
Zhou L, Ivanov II, Spolski R, Min R, Shenderov K, Egawa T, et al. IL-6 programs T(H)-17 cell differentiation by promoting sequential engagement of the IL-21 and IL-23 pathways. Nat Immunol. 2007;8:967–74.
Fujino S, Andoh A, Bamba S, Ogawa A, Hata K, Araki Y, et al. Increased expression of interleukin 17 in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut. 2003;52:65–70.
Fuss IJ, Becker C, Yang Z, Groden C, Hornung RL, Heller F, et al. Both IL-12p70 and IL-23 are synthesized during active Crohn’s disease and are down-regulated by treatment with anti-IL-12 p40 monoclonal antibody. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2006;12:9–15.
Umetsu DT, DeKruyff RH. Th1 and Th2 CD4+ cells in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1997;215:11–20.
Bouma G, Strober W. The immunological and genetic basis of inflammatory bowel disease. Nat Rev Immunol. 2003;3:521–33.
Heller F, Florian P, Bojarski C, Richter J, Christ M, Hillenbrand B, et al. Interleukin-13 is the key effector Th2 cytokine in ulcerative colitis that affects epithelial tight junctions, apoptosis, and cell restitution. Gastroenterology. 2005;129:550–64.
Rutgeerts P, Sandborn WJ, Feagan BG, Reinisch W, Olson A, Johanns J, et al. Infliximab for induction and maintenance therapy for ulcerative colitis. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:2462–76.
Annunziato F, Cosmi L, Santarlasci V, Maggi L, Liotta F, Mazzinghi B, et al. Phenotypic and functional features of human Th17 cells. J Exp Med. 2007;204:1849–61.
Denning TL, Qi H, Konig R, Scott KG, Naganuma M, Ernst PB. CD4+ Th cells resembling regulatory T cells that inhibit chronic colitis differentiate in the absence of interactions between CD4 and class II MHC. J Immunol. 2003;171:2279–86.
Hosoe N, Miura S, Watanabe C, Tsuzuki Y, Hokari R, Oyama T, et al. Demonstration of functional role of TECK/CCL25 in T lymphocyte–endothelium interaction in inflamed and uninflamed intestinal mucosa. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2004;286:G458–66.
Lu B, Humbles A, Bota D, Gerard C, Moser B, Soler D, et al. Structure and function of the murine chemokine receptor CXCR3. Eur J Immunol. 1999;29:3804–12.
Neurath MF, Finotto S, Fuss I, Boirivant M, Galle PR, Strober W. Regulation of T-cell apoptosis in inflammatory bowel disease: to die or not to die, that is the mucosal question. Trends Immunol. 2001;22:21–6.
Ghosh S, Goldin E, Gordon FH, Malchow HA, Rask-Madsen J, Rutgeerts P, et al. Natalizumab for active Crohn’s disease. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:24–32.
Stephens GL, Shevach EM. Foxp3+ regulatory T cells: selfishness under scrutiny. Immunity. 2007;27:417–9.
Zheng Y, Rudensky AY. Foxp3 in control of the regulatory T cell lineage. Nat Immunol. 2007;8:457–62.
Cong Y, Weaver CT, Lazenby A, Elson CO. Bacterial-reactive T regulatory cells inhibit pathogenic immune responses to the enteric flora. J Immunol. 2002;169:6112–9.
Rennick DM, Fort MM, Davidson NJ. Studies with IL-10-/- mice: an overview. J Leukoc Biol. 1997;61:389–96.
Coffman RL, Lebman DA, Shrader B. Transforming growth factor beta specifically enhances IgA production by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated murine B lymphocytes. J Exp Med. 1989;170:1039–44.
Ruemmele FM, Brousse N, Goulet O. Autoimmune enteropathy: molecular concepts. Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2004;20:587–91.
Ochs HD, Gambineri E, Torgerson TR. IPEX, FOXP3 and regulatory T-cells: a model for autoimmunity. Immunol Res. 2007;38:112–21.
Allez M, Brimnes J, Dotan I, Mayer L. Expansion of CD8+ T cells with regulatory function after interaction with intestinal epithelial cells. Gastroenterology. 2002;123:1516–26.
Kraus TA, Toy L, Chan L, Childs J, Cheifetz A, Mayer L. Failure to induce oral tolerance in Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis patients: possible genetic risk. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2004;1029:225–38.
Kraus TA, Toy L, Chan L, Childs J, Mayer L. Failure to induce oral tolerance to a soluble protein in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology. 2004;126:1771–8.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mayer, L. Evolving paradigms in the pathogenesis of IBD. J Gastroenterol 45, 9–16 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-009-0138-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-009-0138-3