Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42177552›Full record

ArticleJournal of translational medicine2026

Microbiota-derived butyrate inhibits colonic epithelial pyroptosis and mitigates DSS-induced colitis via interacting with aryl hydrocarbon receptor.

Fei Zou, Zengrong Wu, Su Wang, Mengmeng Xu, Pianpian Xia, Yaxian Hu, Tang Fang, Peijun Hu, Chongyang Huang, Feihong Deng

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Fei Zou *Department of Gastroenterology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410011, China.
Zengrong Wu *Department of Gastroenterology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410011, China.
Su WangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410011, China.
Mengmeng XuDepartment of Gastroenterology, Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital, Xining, Qinghai Province, 810001, China.
Pianpian XiaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410011, China.
Yaxian HuDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, 225001, China.
Tang FangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410011, China.
Peijun HuDepartment of Gastroenterology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410011, China.
Chongyang HuangDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou, University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510030, China.
Feihong DengDepartment of Gastroenterology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410011, China. dfh411@csu.edu.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 82470586
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIntestinal barrier defects cause antigen translocation and immune dysregulation. The pyroptosis of colonic epithelial cells (CECs) disrupts the colonic barrier, and its inhibition might be a therapeutic approach for ulcerative colitis (UC), but the mechanisms are not fully understood.

methodsA DSS-induced UC model was established to assess the level of colonic epithelial cell pyroptosis. 16S rDNA sequencing and LC‒MS/MS were applied to screen potential candidate bacterial species and metabolites. The roles of target metabolites were evaluated in vivo using GSDMD-knockout mice. FHC cells treated with LPS + ATP were used as a cellular model of pyroptosis, and the underlying molecular mechanism was explored mainly by siRNA transfection and lentivirus infection.

resultsWe found that DSS-treated mice exhibited increased levels of pyroptosis in the colon. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) significantly suppressed mucosal inflammation and CEC pyroptosis, accompanied by increased levels of butyrate-producing bacteria and butyrate in feces. Butyrate treatment alleviated DSS-induced colitis in mice. Moreover, GSDMD knockout mitigated DSS-induced colitis in mice, whereas a butyrate intervention failed to further ameliorate colitis in GSDMD-knockout mice. Mechanistically, we found that butyrate significantly inhibited LPS + ATP-induced pyroptosis by activating its receptor, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), in FHC cells, while silencing AhR suppressed this effect. The overexpression of cGAS in FHC increased the level of pyroptosis, whereas the administration of butyrate inhibited the activation of the cGAS-STING pathway. Treatment with a cGAS inhibitor significantly reversed the increase in pyroptosis caused by AhR knockdown in pyroptotic FHC cells.

conclusionsGut microbiota-derived butyrate levels were increased after FMT. Butyrate suppressed the proinflammatory cGAS-STING-NF-κB signaling axis via AhR to inhibit CEC pyroptosis and thereby alleviate UC.

Indexed as

ButyratesColitisColonEpithelial CellsGastrointestinal MicrobiomeMicrobiotaPyroptosisReceptors, Aryl HydrocarbonAnimalsDextran SulfateFecal Microbiota TransplantationGasderminsIntestinal Barrier FunctionLipopolysaccharidesMaleMiceButyratesDextran SulfateGasderminsGsdmd protein, mouseLipopolysaccharidesPhosphate-Binding ProteinsReceptors, Aryl HydrocarbonAryl hydrocarbon receptorButyratecGAS–STING signaling pathwayPyroptosisUlcerative colitis

Identifiers

PMID42177552
PMCPMC13386677

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.