Intestinal cell death is a defining feature of Crohn's disease (CD), a major form of inflammatory bowel disease. The focus on this aspect of enteric inflammation has mainly been on epithelial cells, while other cell types such as stromal and myeloid cells have received less attention. Hypothesising that decreased macrophage viability in an oxidative environment could be a contributing factor to the pathophysiology of CD, we found that monocyte-derived macrophages from individuals with active CD (but not those in clinical disease remission) have increased sensitivity to cell death induced by HO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol
January 2025
Interleukin-4 activated human macrophages [M(IL4)s] promote epithelial wound healing and exert an anticolitic effect in a murine model. Blood monocyte-derived M(IL4)s from healthy donors and individuals with Crohn's disease had increased mRNA expression of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor chain, receptor activity modifying protein-1 (RAMP1), raising the issue of neural modulation of the M(IL4)s reparative function. Thus, human M(IL4)s were treated with CGRP and the cells' phagocytotic, epithelial wound repair and anticolitic functions were assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecognizing that enteric tuft cells can signal the presence of nematode parasites, we investigated whether tuft cells are required for the expulsion of the cestode, Hymenolepis diminuta, from the non-permissive mouse host, and in concomitant anti-helminthic responses. BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice infected with H. diminuta expelled the worms by 11 days post-infection (dpi) and displayed DCLK1+ (doublecortin-like kinase 1) tuft cell hyperplasia in the small intestine (not the colon) at 11 dpi.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFmicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate post-transcriptional gene expression. Accumulating evidence suggests their involvement in regulating various biological and pathological processes, including inflammation. Studies have revealed distinct expression patterns of miRNAs in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with (CRSwNP) and without (CRSsNP) nasal polyps (1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe murine interleukin-4 treated macrophage (MIL4) exerts anti-inflammatory and pro-healing effects and has been shown to reduce the severity of chemical-induced colitis. Positing M(IL4) transfer as an anti-inflammatory therapy, the possibility of side-effects must be considered. Consequently, bone marrow-derived M(IL4)s were administered intraperitoneal injection to mice concomitant with infection (infections colitis), azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulphate (AOM/DSS) treatment [a model of colorectal cancer (CRC)], or ovalbumin sensitization (airway inflammation).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF