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Updated: May 10, 2026
09:52
A Mouse Model for Pathogen-induced Chronic Inflammation at Local and Systemic Sites
Published on: August 8, 2014
Crohn's disease: pathogenesis and persistent measles virus infection
A J Wakefield1, A Ekbom, A P Dhillon
1Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study Group, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, England.
Gastroenterology
|March 1, 1995
Summary
Crohn's disease may stem from damage to blood vessels in the intestine, potentially caused by a persistent measles virus infection. This chronic inflammation and vasculitis lead to the characteristic symptoms of this inflammatory bowel disease.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Immunology
- Virology
Background:
- Crohn's disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with complex etiology.
- A primary abnormality in the mesenteric blood supply has been hypothesized in CD pathogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of mesenteric vasculopathy in Crohn's disease.
- To explore the potential link between persistent measles virus infection and Crohn's disease.
Main Methods:
- Morphological studies using arterial perfusion-fixation, resin casting, and scanning electron microscopy.
- Vascular immunostaining of resected intestinal tissue.
- Epidemiological and basic scientific data analysis for measles virus presence.
Main Results:
- Observed granulomatous and lymphocytic damage to intramural blood vessels in Crohn's disease, even in macroscopically normal areas.
- Preliminary evidence suggests a possible association between persistent measles virus and Crohn's disease.
- Proposed mechanisms for chronic ischemia and vasculitis in CD.
Conclusions:
- Crohn's disease may represent a chronic granulomatous vasculitis.
- Persistent measles virus infection within vascular endothelium is a potential underlying cause.
- This inflammation, possibly exacerbated by hypercoagulable state or mechanical stress, results in CD clinical features.
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