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Review
. 2015 Mar;64(3):367-72.
doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2014-308048. Epub 2014 Nov 21.

ECM remodelling in IBD: innocent bystander or partner in crime? The emerging role of extracellular molecular events in sustaining intestinal inflammation

Elee Shimshoni  1 , Doron Yablecovitch  2 , Liran Baram  3 , Iris Dotan  3 , Irit Sagi  1
Affiliations
Review

ECM remodelling in IBD: innocent bystander or partner in crime? The emerging role of extracellular molecular events in sustaining intestinal inflammation

Elee Shimshoni et al. Gut. 2015 Mar.
No abstract available

Keywords: EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX; IBD; IBD BASIC RESEARCH; IBD CLINICAL.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustration of IBD-associated progressive tissue damage and complications due to extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling imbalance and dysregulation. The illustration represents the two faces of progressive tissue damage and complications associated with IBD, resulting from imbalanced and dysregulated ECM remodelling (ie, fistulising vs fibrostenotic disease). During chronic intestinal inflammation, the ECM is remodelled due to secretion of enzymes and structural components by immune, epithelial and stromal cells. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contribute to epithelial and endothelial barrier disruption and enable immune cells to infiltrate into the tissue. Extracellular proteolysis is a propagator of inflammation via cytokine processing, and release of bioactive molecules from the ECM. On the other hand, fibrotic processes also take place simultaneously by fibroblast activation and secretion of ECM components that assemble via lysyl oxidase (LOX) activity. In turn, the increased stiffness of this fibrotic tissue leads to further fibrogenesis. Therefore, both the destructive and fibrogenic processes in the ECM are self-amplifying and contribute to the tissue damage and excess inflammatory response characteristic of IBD.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Second-harmonic imaging of native human colon biopsies revealing extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling in IBD. All samples were thawed in phosphate buffered saline and immediately imaged under two-photon microscope (×20 objective). (A) Healthy colon biopsy from a patient without IBD. (B) Inflamed colon biopsy from a patient with IBD. Note the thickening of ECM barrier between crypts (indicated by curvy arrows), the formation of holes within this barrier (indicated by arrowheads) and changes in collagen microstructure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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