Daily Archives: January 18, 2018

We reported that increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling in subepithelial myofibroblasts (SEMF) isolated from patients with stricturing Crohn’s disease contributes to activation of TGF-β1 and fibrosis. Increased TGF-β1 results from in… Continue reading →

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a complex civilization disease and has a prevalence of up to 0.2% in the Asian countries. The disease preferentially manifests in the second and third decade of life. Oral soft tissue lesions can precede or occur con… Continue reading →

The enteric nervous system regulates gut reflexes. Our prior data show that enteric glia regulate the activity and survival of enteric neurons in health and disease through mechanisms that involve the release of mediators through connexin-43 (Cx43) hem… Continue reading →

Opioid abuse has reached epidemic proportions with over 12 million reporting a history of opioid misuse. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) suffer from chronic relapsing-remitting pain and are at risk for opioid abuse and dependence. We aim… Continue reading →

More than 200 genetic loci have been identified in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). However, those loci do not explain the full hereditability of IBD, suggesting there are more genetics variants with weak or moderate effect sizes. To further expand ou… Continue reading →

Ulcerative colitis patients have an increased risk of colitis associated cancer (CAC). It is driven by continuous exposure to inflammation and it is different than sporadic colon cancer (CRC). CAC advances through “dysplasia-carcinoma axis” while C… Continue reading →

TNF-like Weak Inducer of Apoptosis (TWEAK) and Fn14 are TNF superfamily members that were reported to be elevated in colonic samples of UC patients. However, the precise role of TWEAK/Fn14 in intestinal inflammation is still not fully elucidated. The a… Continue reading →

Neutrophils can release their DNA as neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) via a programmed cell death known as NETosis; this process is dependent on peptidyl arginine deiminase-4 (PAD4, aka Padi4) activity to facilitate the rapid de-condensation of ch… Continue reading →

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases are associated with a disruption of the intestinal microbiota, called dysbiosis, determining event in the pathogenesis. Interactions between host and microbiota occur through various factors, including anti-microbial peptide… Continue reading →

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) regulates the biological actions of the active vitamin D metabolite, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Evidence strongly supports that VDR signaling is involved in the genetic, environmental, immune, and microbial aspects of inflamma… Continue reading →