Probing the activity of cysteine cathepsins in inflammatory bowel diseases.

ABSTRACT: Cathepsin S is a cysteine protease that has been implicated in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) for its ability to promote visceral pain. Given its pro-inflammatory roles, we hypothesized that cathepsin S would drive other symptoms associated with IBD. Using activity-based probes, we investigated cysteine cathepsin activation in human and murine colitis. We observed a significant increase in fecal cathepsin S in patients with ulcerative colitis compared to healthy controls, while cathepsin S in mucosal biopsies was unchanged. Mice with experimental colitis exhibited a modest increase in mucosal activity of both cathepsin S and X compared to naïve mice. Luminal secretion of cathepsin S was dramatically increased upon colitis induction, although differences between mouse colonies were obser

SUBMITTER: Anderson BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12824247 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature