Until now, the trigger for chronic inflammatory bowel disease was unknown, which is why medical treatment approaches have so far only been able to alleviate symptoms. However, researchers led by Bernadette Mödl and Robert Eferl from the Centre for Cancer Research and the Comprehensive Cancer Centre at the Medical University of Vienna have now discovered a possible cause.
Missing protein CDHR5
On the outermost layer of the human intestinal mucosa is the epithelial lining, which has protrusions on its surface that look like a combed brush border. If the proteinCDHR5 is missing, the brush border is shortened and looks "unkempt". It is already known that people with chronic inflammatory bowel disease have too little of the protein CDHR5.
Permeable mucus layer
The Viennese researchers have now discovered that chronic inflammatory bowel disease only occurs when not only the CDHR5 protein is missing, but also when the protective mucus layer over the epithelial lining is permeable. High-fat, unhealthy food demonstrably makes the mucus layer more permeable and favours intestinal inflammation.
Improved chances of treatment possible
According to MedUni Vienna, these new findings now provide new starting points for the development of therapeutic measures. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal "EMBO Reports", a peer-reviewed scientific journal that specialises in biology at the molecular level.
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Source: red, wien.ORF.at