THE ROLE OF IL-13 AND NK T CELLS IN EXPERIMENTAL AND HUMAN ULCERATIVE COLITIS

Recent studies that have evaluated the immunologic factors which mediate the development of the two forms of IBD, namely Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, have suggested that these diseases are due to disparate immune responses. While Crohn’s disease has been characterized as a dysregulation of the Th1/Th17 pathways more recent evidence has emerged that ulcerative colitis pathogenesis is associated with a nonclassical NK T cell producing an atypical Th2 (IL-13) response. In the following review the insights gained from both animal models and human studies as to the role that IL-13 and NK T cells play in the pathogenesis of UC will be discussed.