Basic science Bacterial toxin that impairs macrophages: a further contribution of the gut microbiome in UC pathogenesis Jiang Z, Wang Y, Gong J, et al . An Aeromonas variant that produces aerolysin promotes susceptibility to ulcerative colitis.
Science 2025; 390(6775):edaz4712, doi: 10.1126/science.adz4712 An aberrant interaction between the microbiome and epithelial immune system within the gut is recognised as part of the aetiopathogenesis of UC. However, mechanisms underlying this are incompletely understood.
Jiang et al initially examined gut-resident macrophages in colonic tissue from patients with UC and control patients, observing that UC specimens had depletion of these macrophages. Mice with depleted colonic macrophages (either chemically or genetically) were more susceptible to colitis after dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) exposure than those with intact macrophages.
Exploring the possibility of a 'macrophage-toxic factor' arising from gut bacteria, Jiang et al cultured bacteria from the stool of patients with UC and control patients, before...
Gut (BMJ) published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 07 Apr 2026.
The item focuses on GI highlights from the literature.
Review the original article for the full source wording and details.