Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), is closely linked to gut microbial imbalance marked by loss of beneficial microbes and overgrowth of pathogens. Christensenella intestinihominis, a bacterium that associated with intestinal homeostasis, is depleted in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), yet its therapeutic potential against this disease remains to be elucidated. Here we demonstrate that C. intestinihominis AF73-05CM02, a strain isolated from Chinese individual, alleviates colitis. In healthy human gut, C. intestinihominis co-occurs with beneficial microbes in strongly connected networks, while these interactions are disrupted in UC. We employ the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced murine colitis model, a widely recognized preclinical model for investigating intestinal inflammation. In this model, oral gavage with AF73-05CM02 mitigates weight loss, ameliorates colonic injury, improves intestinal health markers, and reverses colon damage. It exerts these effects by reducing harmful bacteria such as Helicobacter species and increasing beneficial taxa like Akkermansia, while enhancing the intestinal epithelial barrier integrity and regulating immune responses. These findings indicate AF73-05CM02 may aid in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease by restoring a healthy gut microbial community.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study have been deposited into CNSA52 with accession number CNP0004539. Raw data for each graph is included in Supplementary Data File. All other data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82460112), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2024YFA1308300), the Innovative Team Program of Yunnan Province (No. 202305AS350019), and the Shenzhen Municipal Government of China (Project No. JCYJ20241202124801003).
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Conceptualization: Y.Q.Z., S.Y.L., and Y.S.; Methodology: Y.Q.Z., S.Y.L., and Y.S.,and X.L.; Investigation: Z.N.W., X.F.S., X.F.L., H.Y.W., H.W.L., M.M.W, Z.Z.Y., K.Y.Z., N.N.H., and L.J.R.; Funding acquisition: Y.Q.Z., and Y.S.; Project administration: Y.Q.Z.; Writing: all authors contribute to writing the manuscript.
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Wu, Z., Sun, X., Li, X. et al. Amelioration of colitis through restored gut ecology using Christensenella intestinihominis AF73-05CM02 as a probiotic in mice. Commun Biol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10031-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10031-3
