More on the interplay between gut microbiota, autophagy, and inflammatory bowel disease is needed

Table 1 Potentially promising research proposals related to inflammatory bowel disease

Suggestions	Scope	Possible research methods and expected outcomes
(1) Additional experimental and human studies on IBD pathophysiology	Considering more specifically the interrelationship between gut microbiota, autophagy, and IBD	(1) Usage of genetically engineered mice (IL-10 knockout mice, TNFΔARE mice) to mimic human IBD; (2) Use CRISPR/Cas9 technology to create targeted mutations in autophagy-related genes to study their effects on gut inflammation; (3) Recruit a diverse cohort of IBD patients including those with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as healthy controls, to better understand the pathophysiology of IBD; and (4) Employ bioinformatic tools to model the complex interactions between genes, proteins, and microbiota in IBD
(2) Development of more effective medicines and therapies for IBD patients	Considering more specifically the interrelationship between gut microbiota, autophagy, and IBD	(1) Utilizing primary intestinal epithelial cells, immune cells, and patient-derived organoids to test drug efficacy and toxicity; (2) Developing monoclonal antibodies targeting specific cytokines (TNF-α, IL 12/23) involved in IBD inflammation; and (3) Developing formulations of beneficial bacteria or prebiotic fiber to restore gut microbiota imbalance
(3) Development of new and more effective personalized treatment approaches	Considering more specifically the interrelationship between gut microbiota, autophagy, and IBD	(1) Developing microbiome-based biomarkers for IBD diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment response; and (2) Utilizing biomarkers to stratify patients and tailor treatments based on individual profiles to enhance personalized therapeutic intervention
(4) Periodic epidemiological monitoring studies on the burden, years of life lost, or years living with disability in cases of IBD	Expanded scope	Performing data collection, analysis, and interpretation, ensuring reliable results for analyzing the distribution patterns
(5) Assessment of the quality of life of affected patients according to new medicines used or treatment protocols	Expanded scope	Using appropriate quality of life measurement tools (Short form health survey or EuroQol 5D questionnaire) designing a robust study, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the results
(6) More comprehensive pharmacovigilance studies involving affected patients	Expanded scope	Designing a structured approach to monitor, assess, and understand the safety profiles of medications
(7) Studies on scientific misinformation related to IBD	Expanded scope	Utilizing a systematic approach to identify, analyze, and understand the spread and impact of misinformation related to IBD

CRISPR/Cas9: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/associated protein 9; EuroQol 5D: European quality of life-five dimensions; IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease; IL: Interleukin; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; TNFΔARE: Tumor necrosis factor, adenylate-uridylate-rich element deletion.