A team of researchers from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) and the Biomedical Research Institute of Southern Catalonia (IRB CatSud, formerly IISPV) has published a study in the scientific journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. The study describes an experimental rat model that reproduces key features of creeping fat, the accumulation of fatty tissue around inflamed intestinal segments, which is one of the characteristic pathological signs of Crohn’s disease.
The study shows that the colitis model induced with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) develops hyperplasia of the mesocolic adipose tissue, presenting macroscopic, histological, immunological and molecular similarities to the creeping fat observed in patients with Crohn’s disease. According to the authors, this model can help study the role of this tissue in the progression of the disease and its complications.
The first author, Dr. Laura Clua, explains that “creeping fat is not only a growth of fatty tissue around the inflamed intestine, but it is also a metabolically and immunologically active tissue. In the model we observe a strong infiltration of immune cells and high expression of pro‑inflammatory cytokines, features that have also been described in patients.”
The results show a relationship between the severity of transmural intestinal inflammation and the development of mesocolic hyperplasia, as well as the presence of bacteria that have moved into the subserosa. According to the authors, these findings support the hypothesis that the gut microbiota may contribute to the remodeling of mesenteric adipose tissue.
Co-author Roger Suau, corresponding author of the article, highlights that “we have characterized the model at several levels —macroscopic, histopathological, immunohistochemical and transcriptomic— which allowed us to compare it with the features described in humans. About half of the animals develop mesocolic hyperplasia with characteristics similar to the creeping fat described in Crohn’s disease.”
For Dr. Carolina Serena (IRB CatSud), leader of the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBODI) research group, this model may be useful to explore the mechanisms involved in the disease: “having an experimental model that reproduces this phenomenon makes it easier to study the relationship between intestinal inflammation, bacterial translocation and the remodeling of mesenteric adipose tissue.”
According to Dr. Josep Manyé, researcher in the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Research Group (GReMII) at IGTP, “this type of experimental model can help us better understand the role of creeping fat in Crohn’s disease and explore new therapeutic approaches.”
Researchers from the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, the Viladecans Hospital and CIBEREHD also took part in the study, together with other IGTP teams such as the High‑Throughput Genomics and Bioinformatics platform led by Lauro Sumoy, and the Translational Research in Liver Diseases group, led by Ramon Bartolí.
The authors state that the model offers a reproducible experimental platform to study the role of mesenteric adipose tissue in inflammatory bowel disease and to support the evaluation of new therapeutic strategies in preclinical research stages.
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