Understanding epithelial barrier disruption and cell death patterns in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterised by relapsing and remitting inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Inflammatory programmed cell death pathways are of particular interest as potential propagators of inflammation at the intestinal epithelium. A better understanding of the key drivers of cell death in IBD may help identify more targeted therapies. We aim to quantify cell death mechanisms at diagnosis of paediatric IBD, particularly necroptosis and pyroptosis, and identify peripheral biomarkers to identify patients that may benefit from anti-cell death therapies to facilitate precision medicine in IBD.