Expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) in colonic mucosa of patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Case-control study comparing tissue biopsies between patients and healthy controls
PubMed 40385026 · doi:10.62347/CUXA2243
What was done
Colonic mucosal biopsies were obtained during colonoscopy from 80 patients diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and 60 healthy controls recruited between 2013 and 2017 at a single hospital. All participants had normal colonoscopies. Paraffin-embedded tissue sections were evaluated using immunohistochemistry to quantify TRPV1 receptor expression. Researchers analyzed correlations between TRPV1 expression levels and clinical symptom scores, IBS subtypes, patient sex, and biopsy location (ascending vs. descending colon).
What was found
TRPV1 mucosal expression was significantly higher in IBS patients (0.8, range 0–8.4) compared to healthy controls (0.4, range 0–1; P = 0.023). TRPV1 expression demonstrated a strong positive correlation with IBS symptom severity (r = 0.772, P < 0.001). No statistically significant differences in TRPV1 expression were observed across IBS clinical subgroups (P = 0.938), between male (1.0, range 0–7.2) and female (0.8, range 0–8.4) patients (P = 0.871), or between ascending and descending colon mucosa (P > 0.050). Symptom scores did not differ significantly between males (4.0, range 2–9.5) and females (3.75, range 2.0–11.5).
Why it matters
The findings support the role of TRPV1 receptor upregulation in colonic mucosa as a correlate of symptom severity in IBS, independent of disease subtype or patient sex.
Limits
This is a single-center observational case-control study with a modest sample size (n = 140), preventing causal conclusions. Measurements relied solely on immunohistochemical grading without functional electrophysiological validation, and the abstract does not report adjustment for dietary factors, medication use, or psychological comorbidities.
Cited by
- supports In irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), enteric nervous system nerves fire at a lower threshold and there is an increased concentration of pain-signaling TRPV1 receptors in the colon.