Ulcerative Colitis: Samsom JN

van Lierop PP, Samsom JN, Escher JC, Nieuwenhuis EE. · Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital-University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. · J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. · Pubmed #19179875 No free full text.

Abstract: Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic inflammatory diseases of the intestinal tract commonly denoted as inflammatory bowel diseases. It has been proposed that these diseases result from aberrant mucosal immune responses to nonpathogenic microbial residents of the intestines. Recently, it was established that continuous interactions between the innate and the adaptive intestinal immune cells and the microbiota are directly involved in maintaining the physiological noninflammatory state of the intestinal mucosa. In light of the complexity of this mucosal homeostasis, it is astonishing that the inflammatory bowel diseases are relatively rare. Recently, altered functions of the innate immune system have been identified. As such, both hyperresponsiveness and hyporesponsiveness of innate cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases.

van Dieren JM, van der Woude CJ, Kuipers EJ, Escher JC, Samsom JN, Blumberg RS, Nieuwenhuis EE. · Laboratory of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, and Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. · Inflamm Bowel Dis. · Pubmed #17476670 links to  free full text

Abstract: Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a subset of lymphocytes that express cell surface molecules of both conventional T cells and natural killer cells and share the features of both innate and adaptive immune cells. NKT cells have been proposed to make both protective and pathogenic contributions to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). On the one hand, recent studies have shown that these cells are involved in the maintenance of mucosal homeostasis. On the other, NKT cells were shown to play a pathogenic role in human ulcerative colitis. Similar contrasting data have been generated in murine models of IBD. Whether the apparent differences in NKT response patterns depend on variations in NKT antigens and/or on the presence of specific subsets of mucosal NKT cells remains to be elucidated. In this article we review the current literature on intestinal NKT cells and their roles in IBD pathogenesis. Specifically, the nomenclature, NKT antigens, and immune mechanisms of NKT cells within the intestinal mucosa are discussed.

Damen GM, van Lierop P, de Ruiter L, Escher JC, Donders R, Samsom JN, Nieuwenhuis EE. · No affiliation provided · Gut. · Pubmed #18791123 No free full text.

This publication has no abstract.

van Lierop PP, Damen GM, Escher JC, Samsom JN, Nieuwenhuis EE. · No affiliation provided · Lancet. · Pubmed #16905017 No free full text.

This publication has no abstract.