Serine Supports Epithelial and Immune Cell Function in Colitis. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract that are largely driven by immune cell activity, and mucosal healing is critical for remission. Serine is a nonessential amino acid that supports epithelial and immune cell metabolism and proliferation; however, whether these roles affect IBD pathogenesis is not well understood. Herein, the study showed that serine synthesis increased selectively in the epithelial cells of colons from patients with IBD and murine models of colitis. Inhibiting serine synthesis impaired colonic mucosal healing and increased susceptibility to acute injury in mice, effects associated with diminished epithelial cell proliferation. Dietary removal of serine similarly sensitized mice to acute chemically induced colitis but ameliorated inflammation in chronic colitis models. The anti-inflammatory effect of exogenous serine depletion in chronic colitis was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction of macrophages, resulting in impaired nucleotide production and proliferation. Collectively, these results suggest that serine plays an important role in both epithelial and immune cell biology in the colon and that modulating its availability could impact IBD pathogenesis.

publication date

  • February 28, 2024

Research

keywords

  • Cell Proliferation
  • Colitis
  • Epithelial Cells
  • Intestinal Mucosa
  • Serine

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85192831472

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.ajpath.2024.01.021

PubMed ID

  • 38417696

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 194

issue

  • 6