Unbiased tissue metabolomic profiling of IBD, PSC and controls
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Unbiased liquid chromatography mass spectrometry based metabolomic profiling of gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary tissue samples from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, inflammatory bowel disease and controls.
IRAS ID
298628
Contact name
Joshua E Elias
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The cause of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and its highly associated liver disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), remains unknown. Many experts have hypothesised that the exposure to and circulation of as yet unidentified toxic small molecules derived from the environment may contribute to driving the disease. Recent basic science studies by our research group have added weight to this theory. In order to identify any potentially causative molecules, we plan to collect intestinal mucosal biopsies from patients undergoing routine endoscopy for clinical indications and analyse the small molecule contents of these tissues in an unbiased manner using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry metabolomics. This highly sensitive and specific technique will be able to detect and identify any small molecules that are more abundant in one group of patients compared to another. We plan to compare biopsies from patients with the diseases of interest to control patients who do not have these diseases but are undergoing routine endoscopy for other indications such as cancer surveillance.
REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SW/0072
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jul 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion