[Changes in cell kinetics and clinical course in inflammatory bowel diseases]

The pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases is still unknown, but is accessible from several ways. One possibility is the immunohistochemical analysis of cellular changes in the intestinal mucosa. The increased epithelial cell turnover is connected with false immunological pathways in the subepithelial layer. Behind these disturbances which can lead to chronic remitting inflammatory processes the imbalance of apoptosis and proliferation plays a key role.

Of this study is to summarize our current knowledge of the cell kinetical alterations considering histological activity of disease.

On the basis of current understanding it is known that the apoptosis and proliferation of epithelial cells increase in active inflammation compare to normal, although an uniform standpoint of evaluating is still missing. Some alterations of apoptosis and antigen presentation are described in the mononuclear cells of the subepithelial layer. Getting acquainted with and describing the changes of cell kinetics provide facilities to develop new and effective diagnostical methods and therapies.