JAK-STAT Pathway Regulation of Intestinal Permeability: Pathogenic Roles and Therapeutic Opportunities in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

• Published in: Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 14; no. 9; p. 840
• Main Authors: Lei, Hillmin, Crawford, Meli'sa S, McCole, Declan F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25.08.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Antigens; Asymptomatic; Cytokines; Homeostasis; Immune system; Inflammation; Inflammatory bowel disease; Inflammatory diseases; intestinal permeability; JAK-STAT; Pathogenesis; Pathogens; Permeability; Physiology; Proteins; Review; tight junctions; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; intestinal permeability; tight junctions; JAK-STAT; inflammatory bowel disease
• ISSN: 1424-8247; 1424-8247
• DOI: 10.3390/ph14090840

The epithelial barrier forms the interface between luminal microbes and the host immune system and is the first site of exposure to many of the environmental factors that trigger disease activity in chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Disruption of the epithelial barrier, in the form of increased intestinal permeability, is a feature of IBD and other inflammatory diseases, including celiac disease and type 1 diabetes. Variants in genes that regulate or belong to the JAK-STAT signaling pathway are associated with IBD risk. Inhibitors of the JAK-STAT pathway are now effective therapeutic options in IBD. This review will discuss emerging evidence that JAK inhibitors can be used to improve defects in intestinal permeability and how this plays a key role in resolving intestinal inflammation.