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World J Gastroenterol. Jul 21, 2026; 32(27): 117897
Published online Jul 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.117897
Published online Jul 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.117897
Contribution of the appendix to ulcerative colitis by supplying pathogenic immunoglobulin G-producing cells
Yusuke Izutani, Takayuki Ogino, Yusuke Nakano, Akio Fukada, Yuki Sekido, Mitsunobu Takeda, Tsuyoshi Hata, Atsushi Hamabe, Norikatsu Miyoshi, Mamoru Uemura, Yuichiro Doki, Hidetoshi Eguchi, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Osaka, Suita 565-0871, Japan
Shuhei Sakakibara, Laboratory of Systems Immunology, Immunology Frontier Research Center, The University of Osaka, Suita 565-0871, Japan
Yosuke Kishi, Yu-Chen Liu, Daisuke Okuzaki, Laboratory of Human Immunology (Single Cell Genomics), Immunology Frontier Research Center, The University of Osaka, Suita 565-0871, Japan
Ryuichi Kuwahara, Hiroki Ikeuchi, Division of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Surgery, Depart
Takako Kihara, Seiichi Hirota, Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya 663-8501, Japan
Kiyoshi Takeda, Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology, Immunology Frontier Research Center, Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Osaka, Suita 565-0871, Japan
Tsunekazu Mizushima, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Dokkyo Medical University, Mibu 321-0293, Japan
Co-corresponding authors: Takayuki Ogino and Shuhei Sakakibara.
Author contributions: Izutani Y, Ogino T, Sakakibara S, Kishi Y, Liu YC, Nakano Y, Fukada A, Mizushima T, and Okuzaki D were responsible for formal analysis and investigation, writing original draft preparation; Izutani Y, Ogino T, Sakakibara S, and Okuzaki D were responsible for conceptualization and methodology; Ogino T was responsible for funding acquisition; Ogino T, Sekido Y, Kuwahara R, Kihara T, Takeda M, Hata T, Hamabe A, Miyoshi N, Uemura M, Ikeuchi H, and Hirota S were responsible for resources; Ogino T, Takeda K, Mizushima T, Doki Y, and Eguchi H were responsible for supervision; Izutani Y, Ogino T, Sakakibara S, Kishi Y, Liu YC, Nakano Y, Fukada A, Sekido Y, Kuwahara R, Kihara T, Takeda M, Hata T, Hamabe A, Miyoshi N, Uemura M, Ikeuchi H, Hirota S, Takeda K, Mizushima T, Okuzaki D, Doki Y, and Eguchi H were responsible for writing review and editing; and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI, No. 23K08192; Japan Research Foundation for Clinical Pharmacology; Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund; and Japanese Society for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Grants-in-Aid for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research.
Institutional review board statement: This study adhered to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committees of Osaka University School of Medicine (No. 10261) and Hyogo Medical University (No. 0407).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Data sharing statement: Data will be shared upon request from the corresponding authors. The raw data of this study were submitted under the Gene Expression Omnibus accession number GSE284191.
Corresponding author: Takayuki Ogino, MD, PhD, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Osaka, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita 565-0871, Japan. togino04@gesurg.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
Received: December 18, 2025
Revised: January 21, 2026
Accepted: April 8, 2026
Published online: July 21, 2026
Processing time: 198 Days and 20.8 Hours
Revised: January 21, 2026
Accepted: April 8, 2026
Published online: July 21, 2026
Processing time: 198 Days and 20.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The appendix is a potential source of pathogenic immunoglobulin G (IgG)-producing cells in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Appendectomy significantly reduced IgG-positive cells in the large intestine of patients with UC. Appendectomy may alleviate UC symptoms by limiting the number of pathogenic IgG-secreting cells.