Moving towards the prevention of IBD

Specific antibody responses have been identified years before the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Furthermore, elevated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-directed antibody responses were observed pre-diagnosis compared with post-diagnosis. According to the authors, this research may pave the way for IBD prevention by identifying pre-diagnostic targets.

“With the novel technique of phage-display immunoprecipitation sequencing (PhIP-Seq), we aimed to analyse how antibody repertoires change from pre-diagnostic to post-diagnostic IBD,” said Dr Arno Bourgonje (University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands) [1]. “If we could identify pre-diagnostic antibody signatures of IBD, we might move towards developing preventive strategies for these diseases.” Dr Bourgonje and colleagues identified 178 cases of new-onset IBD from a population of 160,000 individuals screened over 15 years.

“We observed 2 main shifts in antibody responses post-diagnosis compared with pre-diagnosis,” expressed Dr Bourgonje. In ulcerative colitis, antibody responses against EBV were significantly higher pre-diagnosis than post-diagnosis (P=0.0005). An increase in antibodies against bacterial flagellins from pre-diagnosis to post-diagnosis was also observed (P=0.009). “In Crohn’s disease, the shifts in antibody responses were quite similar, with a reduction in antibody responses against EBV post-diagnosis compared with pre-diagnosis (P=0.002) and an increase in antibodies against bacterial flagellins post-diagnosis compared with pre-diagnosis (P=0.004),” explained Dr Bourgonje. “Antibody responses against bacterial flagellins were much more pronounced in pre-diagnostic Crohn’s disease than in pre-diagnostic ulcerative colitis (P=0.003),” added Dr Bourgonje.

The current research showed that distinct antibody responses appear years before the diagnosis of IBD. The authors noted a reduced antibody response against EBV from pre-diagnostic IBD to post-diagnostic IBD. Finally, distinct pre-diagnostic antibody responses were identified for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, with a particular increase in responses against a wide range of bacterial flagellins in pre-diagnostic Crohn’s disease.

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   1. Bourgonje AR, et al. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis exhibit pre-diagnostic antibody signatures with shared and divergent changes towards disease onset. OP001, UEG Week 2024, 12–15 October, Vienna, Austria.

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Posted on 28 November 202428 November 2024