How smoking reduceds inflammation in ulcerative colitis (IMAGE)

RIKEN

How smoking reduceds inflammation in ulcerative colitis

Caption

Diagram showing the mechanism discovered in the study. Inflammation of the intestines in ulcerative colitis results from an excessive helper Th2 immune response. Smoking leads to aromatic compounds like hydroquinone in the colonic mucosa. This allows oral bacteria like Streptococcus to thrive there, which triggers an immune response in the form of helper Th1 cell activation. Th1 cells suppress the Th2-immune response, thus alleviating the inflammation and protecting against ulcerative colitis.

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RIKEN

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