Discovery of new role of rare immune cell could prevent invasive surgery for inflammatory bowel disease patients

A team of researchers have played a key part in the discovery of an unexpected tissue reparative role for a rare immune cell type in the gut, that could precipitate fibrosis or cancer if abnormal or impaired.

The team including Dr Nick Evans , Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Southampton, found that type-1 innate lymphoid cells (ILC1) can promote tissue repair but can also contribute to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) co-morbidities when they accumulate in inflamed tissues.

For patients who are at high risk of developing IBD co-morbidities such as cancer and fibrosis, the discovery could mean avoiding invasive surgery if a new therapeutic is inspired from the research led by King’s College London.

The findings published in Nature Materials may also have implications for COVID-19 patients, as ILC1 cells are also the key first responders to viral infections in the lung and the gut.

Further information on this research is available on our main news story .