Brief Lay Background
Inflammation occurs in response to infection, allergies, irritation, injury or trauma. But it can also happen in people who have an autoimmune condition where their immune system mistakenly starts to attack healthy tissues.
Inflammation in the lining of the eye (uveitis) and in the joints (arthritis) often develop together. For instance, up to 30% of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis go on to develop uveitis.
What problem/knowledge gap does it help address
There are several unknowns regarding the development of most cases of childhood uveitis, as well as the variability in response to treatment.
Current treatment strategies for childhood uveitis focus on white blood cells called T-cells and the related proteins that drive inflammation. However, there is evidence that uveitis development could be influenced by a different population of white blood cells called B-cells, which help fight infections.
Two key findings from the research team have prompted this study. First, they have shown differences in B-cells between people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis that do and do not have uveitis. Secondly, that bacteria that live in the gut (gut-microbiota), and the products created by the gut-microbiota when they breakdown food (metabolites), can influence the function of B-cells in childhood arthritis.
Aim of the research project
To investigate whether B-cell function is changed in all patients with childhood uveitis, and whether these changes are linked to changes in metabolites produced by the gut-microbiota.
Key procedures/objectives
- Assess whether B-cells are changed in children with uveitis compared to children without uveitis.
- Investigate whether the levels of metabolites produced by the gut-microbiota known to influence B-cell function are different in childhood with and without uveitis.
- Test whether metabolites produced by the gut-microbiota can directly change B-cell function.
Potential impact on people with sight loss
Understanding why children develop uveitis and why not all respond to therapy represents a first step towards better care. By assessing whether B-cells contribute to uveitis development, this study could show that targeting B-cells – using drugs already available for other disorders – could be used to treat uveitis. The research team may also establish that dietary modulation (which alters gut-microbiota-derived-metabolites) could be used as a future standalone or additional therapy by fine-tuning B-cell function.
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