Mount Sinai Researchers Launch Study on PFAS and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, widely known as “forever chemicals,” may contribute to the development of inflammatory bowel disease years before symptoms appear, according to a five-year study backed by a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai received the R01 grant to investigate whether environmental toxins disrupt biological processes that protect the intestine and regulate the immune system.
The research is spearheaded by Dr. Manasi Agrawal, who serves as Associate Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology), and Environmental Medicine, as well as Director of Environmental Gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine. Her team aims to determine if chemical exposures alter the intestinal glycocalyx—a protective layer—and change blood glycosylation patterns long before clinical diagnosis occurs.
Military Cohort Samples Provide Timeline for Pre-Diagnosis Changes
Investigators will analyze blood samples from the PRoteomic Evaluation and Discovery in an IBD Cohort of Tri-service Subjects study. This active-duty United States military cohort includes individuals who later developed Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, alongside matched controls. Because blood samples were collected at four distinct time points spanning one to ten years before diagnosis, researchers can track environmental exposures and biological shifts that precede the onset of disease.
Unlike previous research that focused on isolated chemicals, the Mount Sinai project will measure all detectable PFAS compounds using mass spectrometry. Dr. Lauren Petrick, Professor of Environmental Medicine and Head of Untargeted Metabolomics at the Senator Frank R. Lautenberg Environmental Health Sciences Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, will oversee these analyses. Dr. Vishal Midya, Assistant Professor of Environmental Medicine, and Public Health, will handle the statistical evaluation of the data.
Laboratory Models Target Biological Mechanisms and Glycosylation
The research combines human cohort analysis with specialized mouse models to observe how chemical exposure affects intestinal inflammation. Scientists are focusing on glycosylation, a biological process that attaches carbohydrate structures to proteins. Changes in these patterns and degradation of the intestinal glycocalyx have been observed before the clinical onset of IBD.
By examining biological changes that precede disease development, this research could provide important insights into how environmental exposures contribute to IBD and potentially point to new opportunities for earlier intervention,
said Dr. Jean-Frederic Colombel, who is Principal Investigator of the PREDICTS study and heads the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center at Mount Sinai.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Mount Sinai PFAS and IBD Study
How do researchers plan to measure chemical exposure in the study participants?
Investigators will use mass spectrometry to measure all detectable per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances present in the blood samples drawn from the military cohort. This approach allows the laboratory to evaluate complex chemical mixtures rather than single compounds.
What specific biological process is being investigated alongside chemical exposure?
The team is studying glycosylation, which adds carbohydrate structures to proteins, alongside the condition of the protective glycocalyx lining the intestine. Alterations in these biological markers have been documented years before patients receive a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
Who funds and supports this five-year inflammatory bowel disease research?
The National Institutes of Health supports the research through a $3.3 million R01 grant titled “Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure and Glycosylation Alterations Preceding Inflammatory Bowel Disease.”