2025 has been a productive year in gut microbiome research, spanning metabolic health, neurogastroenterology, immune modulation, and precision nutrition. In this ‘Year in Review’ article, the GMFH editing team describes their pick of the top GMFH-covered advances in 2025, outlining their impact in the clinical setting and implications for current and future research.
Precision therapy in Crohn’s disease: Why the microbiome should be part of the equation
25 Aug 2025by Konstantina Zafeiropoulou
Crohn’s disease is an immune-mediated disease without a cure. While current guideline-based therapies are immune-directed therapies (small molecules and biologics), recent advances in understanding how the gut microbiome changes precede and drive disease offer potential for developing personalized therapeutics.
The link between environmental and microbial factors and Crohn’s disease risk
29 Jul 2024by Rene van den Wijngaard
Whether environmental and microbial factors are the cause or consequence of Crohn’s disease is still subject to debate. Two recent studies by the Crohn’s and Colitis Canada—Genetic, Environmental, Microbial project have identified new clues.
Dietary fibers, known to regulate intestinal inflammation and gut barrier functions, have been avoided by patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to avoid flare-ups. However, recent findings suggest that if fiber type, patient immunological condition, and the fermentative ability of the gut microbiota are taken into account, they could be beneficial and prevent relapses.
Differences in the gut microbiota in patients with IBD compared to healthy controls suggest that probiotics may be of help. This article takes an in-depth look into the rationale of using probiotics for IBD and summarizes the evidence from recent clinical guidelines for the use of probiotics in Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and pouchitis.
Study identifies a role for bacterial proteases in Crohn’s disease
26 Jun 2023by Amber Hann, Heather Galipeau
Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic remitting and relapsing condition that causes severe inflammation of the intestines and disabling bowel symptoms. It affects millions of lives globally, and although alterations in the gut microbiome have been associated with IBD, precise mechanisms remain incompletely understood. New research from McMaster University now implicates bacterial proteases in Crohn’s disease.
The role of the gut mycobiota in influencing the immune system and inflammation-related diseases
12 Jan 2023by Andreu Prados
Gut fungi found in the lower gastrointestinal tract can influence the host immune system just like the bacterial microbiota. This article focuses on the role of the gut mycobiota in immune system homeostasis and its relevance for host health.
Keystone Bacteroides strain restitution leads to microbiome recovery and reduced risk of colitis in genetically susceptible mice
29 Mar 2022by Rene van den Wijngaard
Alterations in the gut microbiome in early life have been associated with increased risk of inflammatory bowel diseases. New findings in mice have found a keystone Bacteroides strain that reduces colitis risk when engrafted during early life in a gut microbiome disrupted by antibiotics.
Gut microbiota and host inflammation states: personalized treatments for ulcerative colitis remission
15 Nov 2021by GMFH Editing Team
Ulcerative colitis is a chronic debilitating inflammatory bowel disease with no curative treatment currently available. INRAE scientists have developed a novel predictive model of disease progression in pediatric patients that integrates both gut microbiota and host inflammation data.
Targeting fungi for Crohn’s disease? A fungus used in the food industry for surface ripening cheese and meat is involved in impairing colonic healing
15 Sep 2021by Andreu Prados
Scientists have discovered a fungus that delays wound healing in mice and is enriched in inflamed tissue from patients with Crohn’s disease. The findings, coupled with the discovery of an engineered yeast that suppresses inflammation in a mouse model of colitis, highlights the potential of studying fungi-host interactions in IBD.
