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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 7, 2022; 28(17): 1725-1750
Published online May 7, 2022. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i17.1725
Gut homeostasis, injury, and healing: New therapeutic targets
Sema Oncel, Marc D Basson
Sema Oncel, Marc D Basson, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND 58202, United States
Marc D Basson, Department of Surgery, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND 58202, United States
Marc D Basson, Department of Pathology, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND 58202, United States
Author contributions: Oncel S and Basson MD equally contributed to this manuscript with regards to the conception and structure of the manuscript in addition to the literature review; The final draft of the manuscript was read and approved by all the authors.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The senior author (Basson MD) is co-inventor on patents applied for by the University of North Dakota describing the use of small molecule FAK activators to promote mucosal healing. The authors have no other conflicts of interest.
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: Marc D Basson, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 1301 North Columbia Road, Grand Forks, ND 58202, United States. marc.basson@und.edu
Received: October 4, 2021
Peer-review started: October 4, 2021
First decision: December 4, 2021
Revised: December 12, 2021
Accepted: March 25, 2022
Article in press: March 25, 2022
Published online: May 7, 2022
Processing time: 206 Days and 10.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The integrity of the gastrointestinal mucosa is crucial in gut homeostasis, which depends upon the balance between mucosal injury by destructive factors and healing via protective factors. An excess of destructive agents breaks down the mucosal barrier. Upon injury, under physiological conditions, gastrointestinal mucosa heals itself by complex processes. However, the gut may not heal under pathological conditions. Currently available drugs attempt to minimize or reduce injury to the gastrointestinal tract. Recent studies have focused on improving mucosal defense or directly promoting mucosal repair. This article summarizes the pathobiology of gastrointestinal mucosal healing and reviews potential new therapeutic targets.