IBD Possibly Caused by Low Meprin Levels

An enzyme that most of us have never heard of may provide a clue as to the cause of IBD. Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine, led by Judith Bond, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State College of Medicine, and Daniel Lottaz, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at the University of Bern, Switzerland, have discovered that people with IBD have low levels of meprin.

Meprin is an enzyme that contains zinc and is normally found in both the small and large intestines. People with IBD were discovered to have less meprin in the inflamed sections of the colon than in the normal sections of the colon. The researchers also conducted a study on mice, inducing inflammation in the colon and testing meprin levels. The mice that had less merpin were also found to have increased inflammation. When the mice were given meprin, inflammation in their intestine was lowered.

The researchers hope that the information they've discovered on this enzyme can lead to new treatments for IBD.