Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2008 Nov;1 Suppl 1(0 1):S31-3.
doi: 10.1038/mi.2008.40.

The role of IL-13 and NK T cells in experimental and human ulcerative colitis

I J Fuss  1 , W Strober
Affiliations
Review

The role of IL-13 and NK T cells in experimental and human ulcerative colitis

I J Fuss et al. Mucosal Immunol. 2008 Nov.

Abstract

Recent studies that have evaluated the immunologic factors that mediate the development of the two forms of inflammatory bowel disease, namely Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC), have suggested that these diseases are because of disparate immune responses. Although Crohn's disease has been characterized as a dysregulation of the T helper (Th)1/Th17 pathways more recent evidence has emerged that UC pathogenesis is associated with a nonclassical NK (natural killer) T cell producing an atypical Th2 (interleukin (IL)-13) response. In the following review the insights gained from both animal models and human studies as to the function that IL-13 and NK T cells have in the pathogenesis of UC will be discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proposed Mechanism for experimental and human ulcerative colitis. Innate antigen is presented to and taken up by LP antigen presenting cells bearing CD1, which in turn presents to NK T cells. These NK T cells are then activated to secrete IL-13. IL-13 may bring about changes in epithelial barrier function leading to further antigen exposure. In addition, NK T cells upon activation may be directly cytotoxic to epithelial cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fuss IJ, Neurath M, Boirivant M, Klein JS, et al. Disparate CD4+ lamina propria (LP) lymphokines secretion profiles in inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn’s disease LP cells manifest increased secretion of IFN-γ, whereas ulcerative colitis LP cells manifest increased secretion of IL-5. J. Immunol. 1996;153(3):1261–1270. - PubMed
    1. Boirivant M, Fuss IJ, Chu A, Strober W. Oxazalone colitis: A murine model of T helper cell type 2 colitis treatable with antibodies to interleukin 4. J. Exp. Med. 1998;188(10):1929–1939. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Heller F, Fuss IJ, Niewenhuis EE, Blumberg RS, Strober W. Oxazalone colitis, a Th2 colitis model resembling ulcerative colitis, is mediated by IL-13-producing NK-T cells. Immunity. 2002;17(5):629–638. - PubMed
    1. Kronenberg M, Gapin L. The unconventional lifestyle of NKT cells. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 2002;2(8):557–568. - PubMed
    1. Brigl M, Brenner MB. CD1: antigen presentation and T cell function. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 2004;22:817–890. - PubMed