The role of gut microbiota in the formation of IBD, a typical chronic intestinal inflammatory disease

Sep 28, 2026

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Review synthesizes etiological evidence for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), emphasizing gut microbiota (GM) as a central mediator linking genetics, environment, immunity, and dysbiosis. Genetic GM features are associated with IBD pathogenesis through multiple human genomic loci (e.g., LCT, ABO) that modulate GM changes and elevate risk. Environmental exposures after birth—diet, antibiotics, and psychosocial stress—alter GM composition and function, driving intestinal inflammatory states. GM disruption promotes inflammatory cell accumulation and immune activation, contributing to colitis, while GM regulation may offer prevention and treatment strategies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

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Introduction

Inflammatory bowel disease and the role of gut microbiota

Influencing factors of GM in the pathogenesis of (chronic) colitis

Genetic factors

TYPE Review PUBLISHED 17 December 2025 DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1720709 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Gia-Buu Tran, Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam REVIEWED BY Effat Al-Judaibi, Jeddah University, Saudi Arabia Awatif Abid Al-Judaibi, University of Jeddah College of Science, Saudi Arabia Toan Pham Duc, Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam *CORRESPONDENCE Jinglin Chen [Chenjl0729@163.com](Chenjl0729@163.com) RECEIVED 09 October 2025 REVISED 25 November 2025 ACCEPTED 26 November 2025 PUBLISHED 17 December 2025 CITATION Chen J (2025) The role of gut microbiota in the formation of IBD, a typical chronic intestinal inflammatory disease. Front. Microbiol. 16:1720709. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1720709 COPYRIGHT © 2025 Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. The role of gut microbiota in the formation of IBD, a typical chronic intestinal inflammatory disease Jinglin Chen * Jiangyou People’s Hospital, Jiangyou, Sichuan, China The existing etiological studies of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) mainly focus on genetics, environment, immunity and gut microbiota (GM) . Interestingly, this review found that the first three causes are not separate, but closely related to GM. First, the genetic characteristics of GM are closely related to the pathogenesis of IBD, and multiple human genomic loci (such as LCT and ABO) have been identified to affect GM changes and increase the risk of IBD. Secondly, the composition of GM is directly related to the environment at birth. With the growth of human beings, environmental factors such as diet, antibiotics, and even psychosocial stress can lead to significant changes in the composition and function of the GM, thus affecting the intestinal inflammatory state of the host. In addition, GM disruption stimulates the body to accumulate a large number of inflammatory cells and activates the immune system to repair tissue while resisting infection, resulting in colitis. Therefore, this review takes genetic factors, environmental factors, and immune regulation as entry points to explore the important role of GMin the formation of colitis and the possible benefits of regulating GM composition, providing new strategies for the prevention and treatment. KEYWORDS gut microbiota, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, genetic factors, environmental factors, immune regulation 1 Introduction Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a family of conditions characterized by chronic, relapsing inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The etiology and pathogenesis ofIBD have not been completely clarified yet, and the existing etiological studies on IBD mainly focus on environmental, genetic, immune and the gut microbiota (GM) factors (Zuo and Ng, 2018) . Among them, GM plays a significant role in the pathogenesis ofIBD and is thought to have complex interactions with other factors. Adverse alterations in the composition and function of GM are known as dysbiosis, which alters host–microbiota interaction and the host immune system. Dysbiosis of the GM, characterized by an altered ratio of pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory microorganisms, plays a central role in triggering and perpetuating intestinal damage (Wu N. et al., 2021) . Because it is estimated that 70% of the human microbiota is located in the colon (Sekirov et al., 2010), and GM can be involved in the synthesis of inflammation (Moskal et al., 2016) . For example, a relative increase in the abundance of the Proteobacteria was consistently found in the GM ofIBD patients, especially in pro-inflammatory Esche

FAQs

What is the key focus of this review on IBD?

The review focuses on how gut microbiota influences the formation of IBD and chronic colitis, and how GM regulation might help prevention and treatment.

How do genetic factors relate to gut microbiota and IBD risk?

Genetic characteristics of GM are linked to IBD pathogenesis, and multiple genomic loci (such as LCT and ABO) are associated with GM changes that increase IBD risk.

How can environmental factors after birth affect IBD through gut microbiota?

Diet, antibiotics, and psychosocial stress can significantly change GM composition and function, which then affects the host’s intestinal inflammatory state and contributes to colitis.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by SANS