# Paneth cell phenotype as a predictive biomarker for ulcerative colitis

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $386,463

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
One of the challenges for the management of ulcerative colitis (UC; a subtype of inflammatory bowel disease)
is the lacking of a predictive biomarker that can help stratify patients for personalized treatment strategies. We
have previously shown that in Crohn’s disease (CD; another subtype of inflammatory bowel disease), the
morphologic phenotype of small intestinal Paneth cells readily predicts outcome in post-surgical CD patients.
Given the shared genetic etiology and clinical features between CD and UC, we hypothesize that Paneth cell
phenotype will also predict outcome in UC. Our long-term goal is to define the clinical indications of
inflammatory bowel disease of which Paneth cell phenotype can predict outcome. The objective of this grant is
to determine to the extent of which Paneth cell phenotype predicts development of ileal complications in UC.
The central hypothesis is that in UC patients undergoing total colectomy and ileal pouch anal anastomosis
(IPAA), the Paneth cell phenotype obtained at time of colectomy will predict development of pouchitis and de
novo CD in the ileal pouch. Our rationale is that Paneth cell phenotype will offer better outcome prediction over
current practice. Our specific aims will test the following hypotheses: (Aim1) Paneth cell phenotype correlates
with ileal complications in UC patients with IPAA; (Aim 2) Deep learning will reduce observer variation and
enhance rigor and reproducibility of Paneth cell phenotype analysis in surgical pathology specimens, and also
identify novel clinical factors that correlate with Paneth cell function; (Aim 3) Serum markers that correlate with
Paneth cell phenotype could be used to predict outcome in UC. Upon conclusion, we will understand the role
for Paneth cell function in modulating disease course in IBD. This contribution is significant since it will
establish Paneth cell phenotype as a critical predictive biomarker for IBD. The proposed research is innovative
because we use state-of-the-art deep learning approach to build an imaging analysis pipeline, and to identify
novel clinical factors that affect Paneth cell functions. Identifying how epithelial cells with innate immune
function affect disease course will provide insight into other inflammatory disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10119843
- **Project number:** 1R01DK124274-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ta-Chiang Liu
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $386,463
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-24 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10119843

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10119843, Paneth cell phenotype as a predictive biomarker for ulcerative colitis (1R01DK124274-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10119843. Licensed CC0.

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