Hypersensitivity in the gut is common in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but how to control protease function, which is involved with digestion as well as immune signaling, is unclear. Researchers study gut microbiota that suppress intestinal proteolytic processes through unconjugated bilirubin production, which happens via microbial β-glucuronidase-mediated conversion of bilirubin conjugates. They also set forth data that define a disease-relevant mechanism of host–microbial interaction that maintains protease homoeostasis.
Reference: Edwinson, A.L., Yang, L., Peters, S. et al. Gut microbial β-glucuronidases regulate host luminal proteases and are depleted in irritable bowel syndrome. Nat Microbiol 7, 680–694 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01103-1
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