# Profiling intraepithelial lymphocyte populations in health and Crohn’s disease

> **NIH NIH R21** · RBHS-NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2020 · $198,750

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY.
Immunological surveillance at barrier surfaces is essential to provide defense against enteric
pathogens and maintain mucosal homeostasis. Disruption of the balance between pro-inflammatory
and regulatory immune response can lead to a loss of mucosal tolerance and development of chronic
inflammatory disease, such as Crohn's disease (CD). The majority of inflammatory responses in CD
have been attributed to both innate and adaptive immune cells located in the lamina propria; however,
relatively little is known regarding the contribution of the intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) compartment
to CD pathogenesis. IELs, which include intraepithelial T cells (IET) and intraepithelial ILCs (IE-ILC),
contribute to the maintenance of epithelial barrier integrity and function as first line of defense against
luminal microorganisms. Due to the difficulty in obtaining a sufficient number of IELs from patient
biopsies for in-depth functional analyses, we propose to leverage advances in single-cell RNA
sequencing technology and RNA imaging to profile the phenotypic and functional characteristics of
ileal IEL subpopulations in health and acute CD. Using transcriptomics as a guide to identify molecular
signatures for individual IEL subsets, we will develop single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization
(sm-FISH) probe multiplexes to visualize these cell populations in patient biopsies. In collaboration
with the IBD Genetics Consortium, we will obtain tissue sections from longitudinal endoscopic biopsies
of a CD patient cohort that has undergone ileal resection and determine the extent to which IEL
phenotype, localization and effector function correlate to disease pathogenesis. These experiments will
not only provide the first cell atlas of the human ileal IEL compartment, but may also lead to the
development of novel prognostic biomarkers or therapeutic interventions for the treatment of CD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10017208
- **Project number:** 5R21DK123488-02
- **Recipient organization:** RBHS-NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** Karen Leigh Edelblum
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $198,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-12 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10017208

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10017208, Profiling intraepithelial lymphocyte populations in health and Crohn’s disease (5R21DK123488-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10017208. Licensed CC0.

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