Inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic reprogramming: From pathological mechanisms to targeted interventions

Abstract

The gut microbiome can generate bioactive metabolites through its metabolic activities. In the schematic diagram, the bright light around the gut microbiome is used to visually represent these bioactive metabolites, which have extensive physiological and pathological regulatory potential. These metabolites play significant roles in multiple stages of tumor occurrence, development, and metastasis, and exhibit notable bidirectional regulatory characteristics. To visually distinguish this bidirectional nature, the diagram employs a “heaven and hell” color scheme, with cool tones representing tumor-suppressive effects and warm tones indicating tumor-promoting actions. Further, the beam structure presented in the center of the diagram symbolizes the dynamic bidirectional communication network between the gut microbiome and the distal tumor microenvironment, with metabolites serving as information carriers. The magnifying glass symbols placed on both sides of the diagram represent the rapidly developing advanced detection technologies and analytical methods, which are conducive to the precise identification, quantitative analysis, and spatiotemporal dynamic monitoring of key microbiome-derived metabolites, deepening the understanding of their mechanisms of action in the tumor process. Additionally, the diagram also emphasizes the significant value of metabolites in the field of translational medicine: on one hand, they are expected to become novel liquid biopsy markers, providing new evidence for the early screening, prognosis assessment, and treatment response monitoring of tumors; on the other hand, intervention strategies targeting specific metabolites or their related pathways are gradually becoming emerging targets for tumor prevention and treatment, demonstrating potential clinical application prospects.