Zhang MJ, Chan SX, Jia ZG, Lv C, Chen JJ, Hong SC. Roles of intestinal stem cells in inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis. World J Stem Cells 2025; 17(8): 107639 [DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v17.i8.107639]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Shao-Cheng Hong, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230022, Anhui Province, China. hscahmu@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Meng-Jie Zhang, Chuang Lv, Shao-Cheng Hong, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui Province, China
Shi-Xin Chan, Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui Province, China
Ze-Guo Jia, Department of Emergency, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230036, Anhui Province, China
Jia-Jie Chen, Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, Anhui Province, China
Co-first authors: Meng-Jie Zhang and Shi-Xin Chan.
Co-corresponding authors: Jia-Jie Chen and Shao-Cheng Hong.
Author contributions: Zhang MJ and Chan SX drafted the initial manuscript and contributed equally to this manuscript as co-first authors; Jia ZG and Lv C contributed to the figure and table artwork and illustrations; Chen JJ and Hong SC conceptualized and designed the review and contributed equally to this manuscript as co-corresponding authors. All authors critically reviewed the manuscript for important intellectual content, approved the final manuscript as submitted, and agreed to be accountable for work.
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: Shao-Cheng Hong, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230022, Anhui Province, China. hscahmu@163.com
Received: March 28, 2025 Revised: May 26, 2025 Accepted: July 14, 2025 Published online: August 26, 2025 Processing time: 147 Days and 10.3 Hours
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), consisting primarily of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. The pathogenesis of IBD has been thoroughly studied throughout the past few decades, such as defective gut epithelial barrier, immune responses, genetic predisposition, infections, and dysbiosis. Recent studies have revealed the unexpected importance of intestinal stem cells (ISCs) in the pathophysiology of IBD. The rapid recovery and continuous self-renewal of intestinal epithelial cells depend on ISCs within the crypts. Proliferation and differentiation of ISCs is an important cytological basis for repairing damaged intestinal mucosa. Unfortunately, as a new therapeutic goal in IBD, mucosal healing is difficult to achieve with current treatments. Stem cell therapy is an emerging treatment for IBD that allows mucosal healing by rebuilding the mucosal barrier. In this review, we present the current research progress on the role of ISCs in IBD and discuss stem cell-based therapies that have been specifically designed for its treatment.
Core Tip: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that severely compromises the quality of life of patients. Intestinal stem cell proliferation and differentiation underlie damaged mucosa repair. However, mucosal healing - a key IBD therapeutic target - remains elusive with current treatments. Emerging stem cell therapy promotes mucosal barrier restoration, offering IBD intervention. This review examines intestinal stem cell roles in IBD pathogenesis and discusses specifically engineered stem cell-based therapies for management.
