
Awarded to Dr Nicholas Ilott, University of Oxford
The total grant awarded is £15,000
Duration of award: 18 months
Research title: Impaired oxidative stress responses in the intestine in PSC-UC

Summary
PSC Support has awarded £15,000 to Dr Nicholas Ilott to uncover markers of ‘stress’ in cells in the small (intestine) in people with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and ulcerative colitis (UC). He will do this by using “proteomics” – a way of studying all the proteins in a tissue sample. This will be the first study to assess protein levels in the small intestine in people with both PSC and UC.
Identifying protein changes in PSC-UC could reveal new insights into how the liver and the intestine interact with each other and affect cancer risk in PSC. Dr Ilott also aims to understand the role of gut microbes in this process and how they might be modified to produce new treatments for PSC.
Update from Dr Ilott
We have successfully been collecting tissue samples at routine colonoscopy from patients with PSC-UC (people with PSC and ulerative colitis), UC (people who have ulcerative colitis alone) and healthy individuals.
After 12 months of collection, we have a total of 45 samples (PSC-UC = 15, UC only = 15 and healthy individuals = 15). This is 100% of planned collection at this 12-month milestone.
These samples will be invaluable in our research that aims to look at whether there are differences in proteins that are important in protecting cells from damage in the intestine in PSC-UC.
Proteomics analysis is planned in the coming two months and I am meeting with the proteomics facility staff in February to confirm sample processing and timelines for analysis. We hope that this will provide us information on whether we can target these proteins, potentially through diet and the microbiome to ultimately protect the intestine and the liver in PSC-UC.
Dr Nicholas Illot 22 January 2025
What will Dr Ilott do?
Dr Ilott will take intestinal biopsies from 15 people who have PSC with ulcerative colitis (PSC-UC), 15 people with ulcerative colitis alone (UC) and 15 healthy individuals. He’ll perform proteomic analysis (analysis of all proteins in the tissue samples) to identify proteins that are increased and decreased specifically in PSC-UC with a particular focus on caretaker proteins.
Why is this study important?
This is a new area of PSC research and will be the first study to assess protein levels in the small intestine in people with PSC-UC, people with UC and healthy individuals.
This research could reveal new insights into how the liver and the intestine interact with each other in PSC. This could lead to the development of new ways to stop cell damage in this disease. For example, this research might show that it is possible to control the amount of damage to the intestine by changing the types of bacteria that are present. This could be achieved by changing people’s diet to promote good bacteria that prevent cells becoming damaged.
The details
Thank you to Dr Ilott for providing this excellent explanation:
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