The intestinal barrier, an arbitrator turned provocateur in IBD

Key studies published in 2020 demonstrate that an impaired intestinal barrier precedes clinical diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by years. Furthermore, studies identify novel regulators of the intestinal barrier, including intestinal macrophages and diurnal variations of diet-microbiome interactions, which could be future therapeutic strategies for IBD. Key advances Intestinal barrier dysfunction precedes and predicts the development of Crohn's disease7,8. Macrophages in the distal colon in mice sense water and fungal metabolite absorption by intestinal enterocytes and regulate the intestinal barrier of the colon9. The small intestinal barrier in mice is regulated by diurnal variations in the diet-microbiome-enterocyte MHC-II-IL-10 axis in intraepithelial lymphocytes10.

Automated summary

Key studies in 2020 highlight that impaired intestinal barrier function precedes the clinical diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease by years and could serve as a potential therapeutic target in the future.