Letter to the Editor
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World J Gastroenterol. Jun 21, 2025; 31(23): 106538
Published online Jun 21, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i23.106538
Application of Wuling powder in the treatment of ulcerative colitis complicated by depression as a new therapy principle
Olga V Smirnova, Aleksander Sinyakov, Edward V Kasparov
Olga V Smirnova, Aleksander Sinyakov, Edward V Kasparov, Laboratory of Clinical Pathophysiology, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, Separate Subdivision Research Institute for Medical Problems of the North, Krasnoyarsk 660022, Russia
Author contributions: Smirnova OV wrote the original draft; Sinyakov AA contributed to conceptualization, writing, reviewing and editing; Smirnova OV, Sinyakov AA, and Kasparov EV participated in manuscript drafting; and all the authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Olga V Smirnova, MD, PhD, Professor, Laboratory of Clinical Pathophysiology, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, Separate Subdivision Research Institute for Medical Problems of the North, Partizana Zheleznyaka St 3G, Krasnoyarsk 660022, Russia. ovsmirnova71@mail.ru
Received: March 3, 2025
Revised: April 4, 2025
Accepted: April 27, 2025
Published online: June 21, 2025
Processing time: 112 Days and 6.8 Hours
Abstract

The problem of ulcerative colitis (UC) is becoming increasingly relevant due to its prevalence and combination with psychological disorders. UC is associated with alterations in the intestinal microbiocenosis as one of the factors reducing tolerance to self-antigens. In addition, patients with UC often experience anxiety, depression and other negative emotional and psychological factors aggravating the course of the underlying disease. The study presented by Wang et al shows that the traditional Chinese medicine Wuling can exert its therapeutic effect by reversing the aberrant precursor of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/ BDNF signaling in mice with UC and depression. The combination of Wuling powder with mesalazine can exhibit an antidepressant effect and reduce intestinal inflammation. Undoubtedly, the study by Chinese authors deserves attention, and changes in the balance of precursor of BDNF/p75 neurotrophin receptor/sortilin and BDNF/tropomyosin receptor kinase B signaling may become a novel therapeutic target for clinical treatment and further development of research.

Keywords: Ulcerative colitis; Depression; Signaling pathways; Precursor of brain-derived neurotrophic factor/p75 neurotrophin receptor/sortilin; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor/tropomyosin receptor kinase B; Wuling powder

Core Tip: The article focuses on the feasibility of using Wuling powder, which modulates the precursor of brain-derived neurotrophic factor/p75 neurotrophin receptor/sortilin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor/tropomyosin receptor kinase B signaling pathways, in the treatment of ulcerative colitis complicated by depression. This problem is highlighted in the article by Wang et al, where they demonstrate that application of the traditional Chinese medicine Wuling normalizes the signaling pathways in the nervous tissue, reduces manifestations of depression and intestinal inflammation in patients with ulcerative colitis. This study is notable for an extremely promising and strategically new objective and a very impressive methodological level of research.