ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1686902
Lily polysaccharides alleviate colitis through the microbiota/N8AS/cGAS-STING signaling axis
Provisionally accepted
- 1China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, China
- 2The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
- 3Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
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Given the rising incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the limitations of current therapies, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. Increasing evidence suggests that natural products hold promise for the treatment of colitis. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of lily polysaccharides (LP) in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC). LP administration significantly alleviated colitic symptoms, and sequencing analysis revealed that LP restored microbial homeostasis by promoting the enrichment of beneficial taxa, including Bacteroides. Moreover, LP markedly increased the levels of the beneficial metabolite N8-acetylspermidine (N8AS). In vitro validation further demonstrated that LP enhanced N8AS production, while exogenous N8AS supplementation alleviated colitis. Mechanistically, both LP and N8AS inhibited activation of the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS-STING) signaling pathway, reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and facilitated intestinal barrier repair in vitro. Collectively, these findings indicate that LP exerts anti-colitic activity through the microbiota/N8AS/cGAS-STING axis. This study establishes a link between microbial regulation, metabolic modulation, and immune signaling suppression, supporting LP as a promising natural therapeutic agent for UC and providing novel insights into the beneficial effects and preliminary mechanisms of N8AS.
Keywords: Lily polysaccharides, IBD, Gut Microbiota, N8AS, cGAS-STING
Received: 16 Aug 2025; Accepted: 10 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Wan, Hou, Zhang, Wang, Wu, Shao and Song. 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: Zheyu Song, songzheyu@jlu.edu.cn
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