New hypotheses on the origin of intestinal inflammation, which would lead, among others, to autoimmune diseases such as Chron’s disease.

According to a team of scientists, the metabolism of vitamin A causes a change in the bacterial flora.
Basically, in people with intestinal inflammation the beta-carotene contained in food does not convert into vitamin A.

Intestinal inflammation: vitamin A has to do with it

This conversion, from beta carotene to vitamin A, takes place in the small intestine.
Foods that contain beta-carotene are transformed into retinaldehyde by an enzyme, BCO1.

Most retinaldehyde transforms into retinol, also called vitamin A, but the transformation from provitamin to vitamin is caused by a protein, ISX, which controls the enzyme.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, found that a deficiency in the ISX protein causes the intestinal wall to become clogged with natural retinoids.
Although the study was conducted in mice, the result would be the same in humans as well.
In fact, this deficit is genetic.

The consequence of ISX deficiency is that beta-carotene, which does not convert to vitamin A as it should, remains in the intestine. Pro-vitamin thus ends up accumulating. This compromises the permeability of the intestine and triggers the immune defenses .
The deficiency would therefore be the cause of leaky gut syndrome. Essentially, it causes the so-called leaky gut, or leaky gut syndrome. The syndrome triggers allergies and autoimmune diseases from chronic intestinal inflammation, such as Chron’s disease.

People suffering from leaky gut may therefore have a genetic problem in altering the ISX gene, which regulates the metabolism of vitamin A (source: 1 , 2 ).