Gothenburg researchers seek answers to elusive intestinal disease

Environmental Enteric Dysfunction (EED) is a long-term condition that damages the protective mucus layer in the intestine and disrupts nutrient absorption. It often has no obvious symptoms, yet it can stunt growth and hinder cognitive development in children. EED can also affect women during pregnancy, with potential negative consequences for both mother and child.

Professor Malin E.V. Johansson and Associate Professor Thaher Pelaseyed at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have been awarded more than SEK 12 million (approximately USD 1.2 million) from the Gates Foundation to study the disease and understand what is happening in the gut in cases of EED.

The protective mucus layer

The research focuses on mucins – specialized proteins produced by epithelial cells in the intestinal lining. Mucins form the protective mucus barrier that shields the gut from harmful bacteria while enabling the body to absorb nutrients. In EED, both the mucins and the epithelial cells’ function can be impaired, leaving the intestine more vulnerable.

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The project will be carried out in close collaboration with researchers in Zambia. The team will collect samples from women of childbearing age with varying degrees of EED and use advanced analytical techniques to examine how the mucus layer is structured in healthy and diseased tissue, and how it changes with the condition. They will also investigate whether these changes can be detected through simpler, non-invasive tests suitable for use in clinical settings.

Treatment and prevention

“We still know far too little about why EED develops. By mapping the mucus barrier in detail, we hope to identify potential treatment targets and ways to prevent the disease,” says Malin Johansson.

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“If we can identify reliable markers for the disease, it would make it possible to detect it early and monitor treatment responses, even in resource-limited settings,” says Thaher Pelaseyed.

World-leading expertise drew the grant

The Mucin Biology Groups at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, are an internationally recognized cluster of research teams at the forefront of their field. It was this expertise that prompted the Gates Foundation to reach out to them – seeking solutions to a serious health challenge affecting the lives of mothers and children in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions.