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Immune infiltration plays an important role in ulcerative colitis (UC) due to ferroptosis, with mutual regulation between UC and immune-infiltrated cells, according to results published in the Journal of Inflammation Research. Study investigators examined data from patients with UC to identify ferroptosis-related genes and assessed protein-protein interactions to identify hub UC differentially expressed genes (UCDEGs). They described 11 hub UCDEGs—CCL2, ICAM1, TLR2, CXCL9, MMP9, CXCL10, IL1B, CXCL8, PTPRC, FCGR3A, and IL1A—and 3 key UCDE-ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs)—DUOX2, LCN2, and IDO1. Researchers found that these genes play a role in immunity and ferroptosis, and a correlation analysis identified three UCDE-FRGs associated with immune-infiltrated cells in UC. Immunohistochemistry results indicated that the expression of three key UCDE-FRGs in patients with UC was higher than in healthy controls. “Our research revealed the potential application of immune [filtration] and ferroptosis in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of UC, providing new strategies for clinical management,” investigators wrote.