Targeting CD4+ T-cell plasticity in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Andres Machicote © Andres Machicote

Aim of research

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are devastating diseases induced by a breakdown of gut homeostasis, in which CD4⁺ effector T cells are major mediators of the inflammatory response. Interestingly, CD4⁺ effector T cells can convert into regulatory T cells, thereby controlling inflammation. However, the forces driving this T-cell plasticity remain largely unexplored, especially in IBD patients. In this regard, changes in the microbiota that can induce different T-cell profiles are commonly observed during IBD. The present proposal aims to elucidate how CD4⁺ T-cell plasticity can be modulated from a pro-inflammatory towards an anti-inflammatory profile in IBD patients. Our hypothesis is that the microbiota may modulate T cells towards an anti- or pro-inflammatory profile. To address this issue, we aim to analyse T-cell plasticity in IBD patients and mouse IBD models, and to correlate our findings with the microbiota composition. Furthermore, we will study whether antibiotics commonly used to treat IBD affect T-cell plasticity through microbiota-dependent processes.

The 19^th ECCO Intensive Course for Trainees (previously named IBD Intensive Advanced Course) designed for residents, fellows in gastroenterology and junior faculty will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 7, 2021, immediately prior to our next Congress. We are pleased to inform you that the preliminary programme for this course is already available.

At the 16^th Congress of ECCO in Copenhagen, the Nurses of ECCO (N-ECCO) will host the educational activity for IBD Nurses, N-ECCO School, for the 12^th time. ECCO intends to give nurses, who might be still in training and have an interest in IBD, the possibility to attend an IBD-focused course. The ultimate aim of this programme is to improve nurse education throughout Europe.

The educational programme of the 16^th Congress of ECCO starts prior to the official start of the ECCO Congress and courses take place from July 7-9, 2021. These activities target ECCO’s different interest groups including young gastroenterologists, surgeons, paediatricians, pathologists, IBD Nurses, dietitians, allied health professionals and scientists.

An overview of these activities can be found below. Please note that courses/workshops may run concurrently. As these educational activities have a limited capacity, we encourage you to register at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to seeing you in Copenhagen!

The Scientific Programme of the 16^th Congress of ECCO provides attendees the unique opportunity to learn from the world’s leading specialists in the field of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Held from Thursday to Saturday, July 8-10, 2021, the Scientific Programme is structured around basic science, translational medicine and clinical sessions. Additionally, it includes oral presentations of the 40 best abstracts of the Congress. The focus of all sessions is clinical practice founded on science with practical take home messages and, as every year, the congress registration fee includes access to all scientific sessions.

Register now and seize the opportunity to hear current and relevant studies from international experts in IBD!

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear ECCO IBD Community,

Dear ECCO Friends,

We are all facing the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The numerous virtual meetings that are held every week have helped us to realise how important real interaction is in a community, and this is especially true for ECCO. This virus has forced us to develop virtual clinics that allow our patients to stay at home and reduce the disease burden. This is probably the only benefit of the pandemic.

Romania

Name of group: Romanian Crohn’s and Colitis Club (RCCC)

Number of active members: 147

Number of meetings per year: 2: one at the National Congress of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and one at the National Symposium of IBD

President and Secretary: Daniela Dobru (President), Maria Ciocirlan (Secretary)

National Representatives:  Mircea Diculescu, Adrian Goldis

Joined ECCO in: 2007

Incidence of IBD in the country: approx. 100/100,000 inhabitants (UC:CD approx. 60:40)

Tuire Ilus © Tuire Ilus

Clas-Göran af Björkesten © Clas-Göran af Björkesten

Finland

Name of group: IBD section of the Finnish Society of Gastroenterology

Number of active members: The Finnish Society of Gastroenterology has 540 members. The IBD section has 30 registered active members.

Number of meetings per year: 2–3

President and Secretary: The Finnish Society of Gastroenterology: Johanna Louhimo (president). The IBD section: Pauliina Molander (president) and Clas-Göran af Björkesten (secretary)

National Representatives: Tuire Ilus and Clas-Göran af Björkesten

Joined ECCO in: 2004

Incidence of IBD in the country: The incidence of IBD in Finland is one of the highest in the world and there has been a significant increase in this incidence during the past 20 years. UC is more common than CD. IBD incidence is 42/100,000 persons per year (UC 31/100,000 and CD 11/100,000).

Ignacio Catalán-Serra © ECCO

Britta Siegmund is Medical Director of the Medical Department, Division of Gastroenterology, Infectiology and Rheumatology at the Charité - University Hospital Campus Benjamin Franklin Berlin, Germany. She has recently been accredited with the position of the new President-Elect of ECCO and we were happy to conduct an exclusive interview with her.

For the convenience of our ECCO News readers we recorded the interview and put it in an audio file. We hope you will enjoy listening to interesting facts about our President-Elect.

Ignacio Catalán-Serra, ECCO News Associate Editor

Edouard Louis © ECCO

The BIOCYCLE project has now been ongoing for 5 years. This project, funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme, aims to explore different aspects of the question of treatment de-escalation in moderate-severe Crohn’s Disease that first requires combination therapy with anti-TNF and antimetabolites to control the disease. Once the disease has been stabilised, an unsolved question is to whether it is possible to de-escalate therapy. This question is important for several reasons, including safety, tolerance, quality of life and costs, to name the most prominent. BIOCYCLE comprises nine work packages, including a randomised three-arm, controlled clinical trial on 210 patients in seven European countries, several patient and health care provider surveys in Europe and the United States, a biomarker research programme and pharmaco-economic analysis. ECCO is mainly involved in the monitoring of the project (through SciCom and ClinCom) and is the work package leader for dissemination of the results. BIOCYCLE is a 7.5-year project and was launched in April 2015.