SHIP deficiency causes Crohn's disease-like ileitis

Kerr, William G; Park, Mi-Young; Maubert, Monique; Engelman, Robert W

To assess the possibility that SHIP-deficiency might alter the development or function of parenchymal cell types in the ileum such as the IEC, we created bone marrow (BM) chimeras where six SHIP À/À hosts were reconstituted with WT C57BL/6 BM and analysed histopathologically 4 months post-transplantation. The gastrointestinal tract of the six SHIP À/À hosts reconstituted with WT BM lacked any abnormalities including all features of the CD-like ileitis observed in germline SHIP À/À and SHIP DIP/DIP mice. We also analysed the lungs of these reconstituted mice. Although components of a moderate eosinophilic crystalline pneumonia were present in the SHIP À/À hosts reconstituted with WT C57BL/6 BM, including crystal formation, and an increase in the number of alveolar macrophages, the marked myeloid infiltration and pulmonary consolidation observed in SHIP À/À and SHIP DIP/DIP mice was not present in lungs of SHIP À/À hosts reconstituted with WT C57BL/6 BM.