REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Intestinal Microbiome
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1692312
This article is part of the Research TopicCan Chinese Medicines Affect Diarrhea via Effects of the Intestinal Microbiota on the Renal-Intestinal Axis? Volume IIView all 9 articles
Crosstalk between Neutrophil Extracellular Traps and Gut Microbiota in Ulcerative Colitis: Traditional Chinese Medicine Strategies
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhejiang University School of Medicine Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Hangzhou, China
- 2Department of Gastroenterology, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- 3Longhua Hospital Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
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Ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic and complex inflammatory bowel disorder, presents ongoing therapeutic challenges. Although multi-tiered anti-inflammatory strategies represent significant advances, issues like treatment resistance and adverse effects persist. Consequently, identifying more effective therapeutic targets and potentially curative strategies remains imperative. Emerging evidence underscores neutrophils, particularly through neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, as pivotal contributors to UC pathogenesis. In affected individuals, excessive NET accumulation exacerbates intestinal inflammation, compromises the epithelial barrier, activates coagulation pathways, promotes resistance to biologic therapies, and may even facilitate malignant transformation. Critically, a bidirectional interplay exists between NETs and the gut microbiota (GM) in this disease. Recent research indicates that certain traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbal extracts and formulas hold promise for modulating aberrant NET generation and GM composition. This review examines the roles of NETs and GM in UC pathogenesis and synthesizes evidence on potential TCM-based interventions targeting these pathways, offering novel perspectives for future therapeutic development.
Keywords: ulcerative colitis, Gut Microbiota, neutrophil extracellular traps, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Inflammation
Received: 25 Aug 2025; Accepted: 23 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Feng, Liu, Qiu, Jiang, Mo and Xv. 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) or licensor 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.
* Correspondence: Yichuan Xv, xvyichuantcm@163.com
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