Cells hope for bowel disease

Rare immune cells can drive gut repair, providing hope of new treatments for patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease, a study has found.

In a paper published in Nature Materials yesterday, the team of researchers from King’s College London said that type-one innate lymphoid cells (ILC1) can promote tissue repair.

The authors said that it had previously been assumed the ILC1 cells drove inflammation, so the findings could inspire completely new therapeutic approaches for those suffering from IBDS such as such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. But the study also found when they accumulate in inflamed tissues, the cells can also contribute to IBD comorbidities such as cancer and fibrosis.

Lead author PhD student Geraldine Jowett said the findings had come as a surprise.