Boosting hedgehog against IBD
Researchers at The University of Edinburgh have identified a reduced-function variant of a protein in the hedgehog signaling pathway that could be targeted to treat irritable bowel diseases, including ulcerative colitis.1 Although restoring the function of glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 could lower inflammation in the colon, agonizing the pathway may also have malignant consequences because it is often upregulated in cancers.
The hedgehog signaling pathway is necessary for embryonic development and homeostasis for vertebrates. Previous studies by the Edinburgh team implicated the pathway in gut development, homeostasis and malignant transformation2 and showed that glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (GLI1) was downregulated in intestinal mucosa from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) compared with what was seen in noninflamed samples.3 However, hedgehog signaling had not been directly linked to irritable bowel disease (IBD)...