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Eubacterium rectale Mitigates Inflammatory Bowel Disease via Modulation of Glutamine Metabolism Through the GLS2 and NF-κB Pathway

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Editor's note
A single gut bacterium appears to calm intestinal inflammation by controlling how epithelial cells metabolize glutamine—a mechanism that could explain why some people's microbiota naturally protects against IBD flares. This mouse study adds a testable molecular link to the growing evidence that microbial metabolites, not just microbial presence, drive barrier function, though human validation remains needed. Gastroenterologists and microbiome researchers should track whether this GLS2 pathway holds in IBD patients.

Source: openalex · Origin: CN · Lu Han, Yiyi Jin, Wen Lin, Zide Liu, Chunyan Zeng · npj Science of Food · 2026-05-26

URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00876-7

AI rationale (4/5, tier: preliminary): Mouse mechanistic study of commensal bacterium modulating intestinal barrier via metabolic pathway; directly addresses barrier integrity and microbe-host signalling.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory intestinal disorder with complex etiology, closely associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis. This study demonstrates that Eubacterium rectale (ER), a beneficial commensal bacterium, alleviates dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice, as evidenced by improved clinical symptoms, restored intestinal barrier integrity, and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. Mechanistic investigations revealed that ER specifically upregulates the expression of glutaminase 2 (GLS2), ameliorates DSS-induced disturbances in glutamine (Gln) metabolism within intestinal epithelial cells, and subsequently inhibits the NF-κB signaling pathway to exert anti-inflammatory effects. Further validation showed that GLS2 deficiency abolishes the anti-inflammatory effects of ER. Collectively, this work identifies a therapeutically relevant mechanism: ER mitigates colitis via the GLS2/NF-κB axis. These insights pave the way for developing ER-derived live biotherapeutic products for IBD.

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Published 2026-05-28 · Last kit-update 2026-05-28