This doctoral thesis investigates the expression of the costimulatory molecule B7h (ICOS-ligand) in intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) from patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Colonic mucosa of inflammatory and not-inflammatory sites from patients with Cohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) were compared with mucosa of healthy persons. The B7h-expression was determined on protein-level using immunohistochemistry (IHC) as well as on mRNA-level using Real-Time RT-PCR, after having isolated IEC via laser capture microdissection. Whereas the results of IHC didn’t make a distinct interpretation possible, the data of mRNA-analysis show a clear B7h-expression in IEC and also a significantly 4fold higher amount of B7h from CD-mucosa in comparison with the normal controls. The inflamed areas in colonic mucosa of CD and UC show only half of the B7h-amount compared with those of non inflamed areas. The most probable reason for this increased B7h-expression is a genetic determination with a higher susceptibility to IBD, whereas the contra-regulatory mechanisms are still intact.
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This doctoral thesis investigates the expression of the costimulatory molecule B7h (ICOS-ligand) in intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) from patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Colonic mucosa of inflammatory and not-inflammatory sites from patients with Cohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) were compared with mucosa of healthy persons. The B7h-expression was determined on protein-level using immunohistochemistry (IHC) as well as on mRNA-level using Real-Time RT-PCR, a...
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