Serine proteases as luminal mediators of intestinal barrier dysfunction and symptom severity in IBS

The intestinal lumen contains several proteases. Our aim was to determine the role of faecal proteases in mediating barrier dysfunction and symptoms in IBS.39 patients with IBS and 25 healthy volunteers completed questionnaires, assessments of in vivo permeability, ex vivo colonic barrier function in Ussing chambers, tight junction (TJ) proteins, ultrastructural morphology and 16 s sequencing of faecal microbiota rRNA. A casein-based assay was...