Gut
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To verify whether targeting defective mucosal T cell death underlies the sustained therapeutic benefit of infliximab in Crohn's disease, we explored its in vivo proapoptotic effect after 10 weeks of treatment, and its in vitro killing activity on lamina propria T cells (LPT) and peripheral blood T cells (PBT), both isolated from Crohn's disease patients. ⋯ These findings demonstrate that apoptosis is the major mechanism by which infliximab exerts its killing activity on LPT in Crohn's disease. The sustained LPT proapoptotic action of infliximab, which extends far beyond its circulating half life, may be responsible for the sustained remission induced in Crohn's disease patients by infliximab retreatment.