IL-13R{alpha}2-bearing, type II NKT cells reactive to sulfatide self-antigen populate the mucosa of ulcerative colitis

Conclusions
These studies show that UC lamina propria is replete with Type II NKT cells responsive to lyso-sulfatide glycolipid and bearing IL-13Rα2. Since lyso-sulfatide is a self-antigen, these data suggest that an autoimmune response is involved in UC pathogenesis.

Source: Gut - October 2, 2014 Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Fuss, I. J., Joshi, B., Yang, Z., Degheidy, H., Fichtner-Feigl, S., de Souza, H., Rieder, F., Scaldaferri, F., Schirbel, A., Scarpa, M., West, G., Yi, C., Xu, L., Leland, P., Yao, M., Mannon, P., Puri, R. K., Fiocchi, C., Strober, W. Tags: Ulcerative colitis Inflammatory bowel disease Source Type: research