Researchers at The Queen's Medical Center and the University of Hawai'i John A Burns School of Medicine have made a discovery that could lead to an effective way to reduce inflammation in diseases including ulcerative colitis, according to a news release from the medical school.

The findings, published in the scientific journal NATURE (June 8, 2008), concern the cellular and molecular components which contribute to the development of inflammation.

The article is written by lead author Shinichiro Yamamoto of Kyoto University along with Drs. Ingo Lange, Andrea Fleig, and Reinhold Penner of the Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Signaling, Center for Biomedical Research at The Queen's Medical Center and John A. Burns School of Medicine, according to the release.

The team's focus was on inflammation, which brings fluids, proteins and inflammatory cells to the affected tissue to enhance healing. However, too much inflammation can cause allergies and chronic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis or inflammation of the colon, the release said.

Researchers sought to discover whether an ion channel protein designated as TRPM2 was a factor in aggravating the inflammatory response. The researchers genetically altered a mouse to remove TRPM2. They experimentally infected the colon of the mouse to cause colitis, which triggers symptoms including diarrhea, bloody feces, body weight loss and ulcer formation. In the absence of the TRPM2, the severity of the colitis was strongly reduced. The research shows that therapeutic repression of TRPM2 ion channel activity may be an effective way to reduce the severity of inflammatory diseases, according to the news release.

The Queen's Medical Center's Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Signaling was established in July 1998 through a collaborative effort of The Queen's Medical Center and the University of Hawai'i. It is headed by Andrea Fleig, PhD and Reinhold Penner, MD, PhD.