Viral-Gut Microbiota Interactions: Implications for the Gut Mucosa in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
- 1College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.
- 2Yuelushan Laboratory, Changsha 410128, China.
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), arises from complex interactions among genetic susceptibility, immune dysregulation, environmental factors, and the gut microbiome. Bacterial dysbiosis has been extensively studied, whereas the gut virome-comprising eukaryotic viruses and bacteriophages-remains less understood. Viruses can affect the intestinal barrier directly by infecting epithelial and immune cells, or indirectly by reshaping bacterial communities and host immunity. However, current evidence is dominated by cross-sectional associations and animal models, and whether virome alterations drive or result from intestinal inflammation remains unresolved. In this review, we provide a focused overview of intestinal barrier components relevant to IBD, synthesize human and animal evidence on IBD-associated viruses, and distinguish direct viral effects, microbiota-mediated effects, and bidirectional virus-microbiota interactions. We highlight bacteriophage-bacteria interactions as a central and potentially causal axis, discuss UC- and CD-specific differences, and outline causality gaps, search methodology, and emerging therapeutic strategies. Finally, we propose key unresolved questions and future research directions.
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BibTeX
@article{wu2026viralgut,
title = {{Viral-Gut Microbiota Interactions: Implications for the Gut Mucosa in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.}},
author = {Yonghong Wu and Lei Hou and Yue Li and Jiao Li and Xue Hua and Yan He and Sujuan Ding and Jun Fang},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27198711},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883955},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Viral-Gut Microbiota Interactions: Implications for the Gut Mucosa in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
AU - Yonghong Wu
AU - Lei Hou
AU - Yue Li
AU - Jiao Li
AU - Xue Hua
AU - Yan He
AU - Sujuan Ding
AU - Jun Fang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
JO - International journal of molecular sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27198711
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883955
AB - Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), arises from complex interactions among genetic susceptibility, immune dysregulation, environmental factors, and the gut microbiome. Bacterial dysbiosis has been extensively studied, whereas the gut virome-comprising eukaryotic viruses and bacteriophages-remains less understood. Viruses can affect the intestinal barrier directly by infecting epithelial and immune cells, or indirectly by reshaping bacterial communities and host immunity. However, current evidence is dominated by cross-sectional associations and animal models, and whether virome alterations drive or result from intestinal inflammation remains unresolved. In this review, we provide a focused overview of intestinal barrier components relevant to IBD, synthesize human and animal evidence on IBD-associated viruses, and distinguish direct viral effects, microbiota-mediated effects, and bidirectional virus-microbiota interactions. We highlight bacteriophage-bacteria interactions as a central and potentially causal axis, discuss UC- and CD-specific differences, and outline causality gaps, search methodology, and emerging therapeutic strategies. Finally, we propose key unresolved questions and future research directions.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -