Wang J, Meng Y, Guo ZG. Contribution of gut microbiota to the development of Crohn's disease: Insights gained from fecal microbiota transplantation studies in mice. World J Gastroenterol 2024; 30(41): 4514-4517 [PMID: 39534419 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i41.4514]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zhi-Guo Guo, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology, Suzhou Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 616 Bianyangsan Road, Suzhou 234000, Anhui Province, China. zhigg0268@sina.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 7, 2024; 30(41): 4514-4517 Published online Nov 7, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i41.4514
Contribution of gut microbiota to the development of Crohn's disease: Insights gained from fecal microbiota transplantation studies in mice
Jin Wang, Yao Meng, Zhi-Guo Guo
Jin Wang, Yao Meng, Zhi-Guo Guo, Department of Gastroenterology, Suzhou Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Suzhou 234000, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Wang J and Meng Y were responsible for writing original draft preparation; Guo ZG was responsible for writing review and editing; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
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: Zhi-Guo Guo, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology, Suzhou Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 616 Bianyangsan Road, Suzhou 234000, Anhui Province, China. zhigg0268@sina.com
Received: August 27, 2024 Revised: September 23, 2024 Accepted: October 8, 2024 Published online: November 7, 2024 Processing time: 57 Days and 13.6 Hours
Abstract
We would like to present some new thoughts on the publication in the journal published in August 2024 in World Journal of Gastroenterology. We specifically focused on the alterations in the intestinal tract, mesenteric adipose tissue (MAT), and systemic inflammatory changes in mice following fecal flora transplantation into a mouse model of Crohn's disease (CD). Accumulating evidence suggests that the occurrence of CD is influenced by environmental factors, host immune status, genetic susceptibility, and flora imbalance. One microbiota-based intervention, fecal microbiota transplantation, has emerged as a potential treatment option for CD. The MAT is considered a "second barrier" around the inflamed intestine. The interaction between gut microbes and inflammatory changes in MAT has attracted considerable interest. In the study under discussion, the authors transplanted fetal fecal microorganisms from patients with CD and clinically healthy donors, respectively, into 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced CD mice. The research explored the complex interplay between MAT, creeping fat, inflammation, and intestinal flora in CD by evaluating intestinal and mesenteric lesions, along with the systemic inflammatory state in the mice. This article provides several important insights. First, the transplantation of intestinal flora holds significant potential as a therapeutic strategy for CD, offering hope for patients with CD. Second, it presents a novel approach to the diagnosis and treatment of CD: The inflammatory response in CD could potentially be assessed through pathological or imaging changes in the MAT, and CD could be treated by targeting the inflammation of the MAT.
Core Tip: Mesenteric adipose tissue and creeping fat (CrF) may play a potential role in Crohn's disease (CD) progression, providing new insights and promising avenues for therapeutic intervention. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from healthy donors may partially mitigate intestinal inflammatory infiltration, improve intestinal permeability, enhance barrier function, and reduce systemic inflammation in patients with CD. Conversely, FMT from CD patients exacerbates inflammatory changes and contributes to intestinal wall fibrosis. In the present study, we found that the gut microbiota played a multifaceted role, mediating the properties of CrF and influencing the inflammatory and fibrotic phenotypes associated with CD.
