Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 21, 2024; 30(27): 3356-3360
Published online Jul 21, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i27.3356
More on the interplay between gut microbiota, autophagy, and inflammatory bowel disease is needed
Arunkumar Subramanian, Afrarahamed Jahabardeen, Tamilanban Thamaraikani, Chitra Vellapandian
Arunkumar Subramanian, Afrarahamed Jahabardeen, Tamilanban Thamaraikani, Chitra Vellapandian, Department of Pharmacology, SRM College of Pharmacy, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chennai 603203, India
Author contributions: Subramanian A contributed to the study conception and design and writing of the original draft; Jahabardeen A and Vellapandian C contributed to the writing of the manuscript; Thamaraikani T contributed to the writing of the manuscript and supervision.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tamilanban Thamaraikani, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, SRM College of Pharmacy, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Intra College Road, Kattankulathur, Chennai 603203, India. tamilant@srmist.edu.in
Received: April 24, 2024
Revised: June 15, 2024
Accepted: June 27, 2024
Published online: July 21, 2024
Processing time: 78 Days and 7 Hours
Abstract

The concept of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which encompasses Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, represents a complex and growing global health concern resulting from a multifactorial etiology. Both dysfunctional autophagy and dysbiosis contribute to IBD, with their combined effects exacerbating the related inflammatory condition. As a result, the existing interconnection between gut microbiota, autophagy, and the host’s immune system is a decisive factor in the occurrence of IBD. The factors that influence the gut microbiota and their impact are another important point in this regard. Based on this initial perspective, this manuscript briefly highlighted the intricate interplay between the gut microbiota, autophagy, and IBD pathogenesis. In addition, it also addressed the potential targeting of the microbiota and modulating autophagic pathways for IBD therapy and proposed suggestions for future research within a more specific and expanded context. Further studies are warranted to explore restoring microbial balance and regulating autophagy mechanisms, which may offer new therapeutic avenues for IBD management and to delve into personalized treatment to alleviate the related burden.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease, Gut microbiota, Autophagy, Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis

Core Tip: Further research is needed into the intricate interplay between the gut microbiota, autophagy, and inflammatory bowel disease with the aim of implementing possible new treatment protocols and/or specific public health policies to both alleviate the burden of inflammatory bowel disease and improve outcomes for affected patients.