2013 Press Releases
Dampening flames of inflammation
Scientists at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC) in UCC have discovered that Natural Killer cells are major regulators of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in an experimental model of the disease.
The research has been published in leading Nature scientific journal “Mucosal Immunology”, making the front cover of the September issue.
Natural Killer cells are white blood cells that act as “watchmen” or “sentries”, protecting us against the development of tumours and viral infections. When a tumour or virus is identified, a vanguard of immune cells accumulates to attack the invader thereby causing inflammation. Because of this, APC scientists predicted that mice lacking Natural Killer cells would develop less inflammation in an experimental model for IBD. However, to their surprise, mice lacking Natural Killer cells developed severe acute inflammation. This was accompanied by severe signs of disease, accumulation of other immune cells called neutrophils and molecules which worsen inflammation and damage gut tissues.
“Our studies revealed that Natural Killer cells migrate to the gut as early as day 1 after onset of disease”, said Dr Silvia Melgar, Investigator at the APC. “In addition, these Natural Killer cells produce a vast amount of molecules that control the immune system. We have identified a new regulatory mechanism for Natural Killer cells in acute gut inflammation and a specific signal protein (killer cell receptor NKG2A) that can directly control neutrophil functions.”
“This is an exciting discovery in Natural Killer cell biology. Our findings open up the possibility of new therapeutic approaches for IBD and other inflammatory diseases such as cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis and severe asthma, where neutrophil accumulation is a key feature” said Dr Lindsay Hall, first author of the study.
The study, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, was carried out by Lindsay Hall, Carola Murphy, Grainne Hurley, Aoife Quinlan, Fergus Shanahan, Ken Nally and Silvia Melgar at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre. Dr Lindsay Hall is now a Lecturer in Gastrointestinal Science in the Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia and a member of the Gut Health and Food Safety strategic research programme at the Institute for Food Research (IFR) in Norwich.