3 top IBD abstracts showcased at the Crohn’s & Colitis Congress®

Researchers compared rectal tissue from people with perianal fistulizing Crohn's disease and Crohn's disease without perianal complications. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, immunofluorescence imaging, and spatial transcriptomics, they identified an unusual immune cell population in both groups: macrophages that also carried a marker typically found on helper T cells (Crohn's disease4) and a marker commonly found on macrophages (Crohn's disease68).

In perianal fistulizing Crohn's disease, these cells were more abundant, clustered into larger, denser groups (p<0.001), and were found closer to the epithelial cells lining the bowel. The data also suggest these macrophages may communicate more directly with epithelial cells through major histocompatibility complex class II signaling, rather than following the more typical interaction patterns seen in Crohn's disease without perianal complications.

Together, the findings point to a distinct immune-cell signature in perianal disease that could help explain why this form can be more severe and may eventually support new ways to predict or target disease progression.

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