Extracellular vesicles: systemic biomarkers of inflammation in IBD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Extracellular vesicles: systemic biomarkers of local inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease
IRAS ID
214690
Contact name
Alan Lobo
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is estimated to affect one in 250 people in the UK, with around 146,000 cases of ulcerative colitis and 115,000 cases of Crohn's disease making up the most common forms of the disease. IBD is idiopathic, incurable, life-long and presents significant morbidity with over 50% of patients requiring surgical intervention and an increased risk (2-3-fold) of developing colorectal cancer1.
There is therefore a strong imperative to improve understanding of pathogenesis in order to improve treatment and outcomes for patients and reduce the costs associated with management of this chronic disease. Further, current methods for the diagnosis and monitoring of disease activity such as CT scans or colonoscopy are also problematic due to cost, potential for complications and their specificity, so safe and efficient methods for measuring disease activity are required. In this project, we will explore the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from inflamed cells during IBD, with 3 key aims: A1) investigate whether EV cargo can provide non-invasive, safe, cost-effective biomarkers of disease activity with potential to simplify disease diagnosis and assessment, A2) establish protocols and preliminary data validating the use of EV cargo as physiologically active mediators contributing to the disease process, and A3) investigate a recently defined inflammatory/regulatory axis observed in colon epithelia as a proof-of-concept link between EV cargo and functional effects in IBD.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/YH/0449
Date of REC Opinion
24 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion