MELBOURNE, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have uncovered early molecular warning signs of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), revealing the condition can start before symptoms and persist silently even when patients seem well.
The study, published in Science, found a hidden flaw that can damage intestinal cells even in patients with well-controlled disease, opening new pathways for earlier prediction of flare-ups, more precise monitoring and more tailored treatment, according to a statement released Friday by Australia's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI).
The team found that intestinal cells in people with IBD were primed for abnormal cell death, including in patients with apparently well-controlled disease.
The findings challenge the idea that cell death in IBD is simply a consequence of inflammation, suggesting it may instead be part of the process driving disease.
Study co-author Professor James Murphy, a WEHI deputy director and lab head, noted that while much attention has been on severe gut inflammation cases in hospital, his team instead examined gut tissue without obvious active disease. They found a molecular defect emerging very early in the disease process, essentially "one of the first dominoes to fall."
The study was based on around 900 biopsies collected from people with and without IBD, with the samples used to create patient-derived organoids for detailed analysis. Researchers followed the patients for more than two years and found that those with higher levels of intestinal cell death signaling were more likely to relapse.
IBD is a chronic condition affecting around 180,000 Australians and can cause symptoms including rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue and weight loss. ■
