Immune cells that create and sustain chronic inflammatory bowel disease identified

(University of Alabama at Birmingham) In preclinical experiments, Laurie Harrington and colleagues have discovered a subset of immune cells that create and sustain chronic inflammatory bowel disease. These cells could become potential therapeutic targets to ameliorate or cure Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Furthermore, if this subset of CD4 T cells plays a similar role in other autoimmune diseases, such as Type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, they could also be targets for therapy.