Intestinal epithelial microvilli are abnormal in Crohn's disease

Biopsy samples (n=362) were collected from terminal ileum at baseline, 8 weeks after induction (Ustekinumab or placebo), and 44 weeks after maintenance (Ustekinumab 90 mg SC q12w, Ustekinumab 90 mg SC q8w, or placebo) therapies during endoscopy for RNA extraction and microarray analysis from patients with moderate-to-severe CD who participated in stelara CD phase 3 studies (UNITI-2 and IM-UNITI). These patients failed conventional therapies previously and largely naive to anti-TNF therpy. Ileum biopsies (n=26) collected from non-IBD subjects were also analyzed to serve as control. Enrichment of a core microvilli gene set was found to be reduced in UNITI-2 CD samples relative to controls, correlated with microvilli length and endoscopy score, and associated with response to treatment. A gene expression profiling study was conducted in which ileum biopsy samples were collected for RNA extraction and hybridization to microarrays from patients (n=362) with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease and from non-IBD subjects (n=26).