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Wan-Li Xu, Gao Lu, Shi-Jie Liang, Xiao-Liang Wu, Li-Xia Pei, Hao Geng, Jian-Hua Sun, Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
Hou-Xu Ning, Department of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing Brain Hospital, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
Correspondence to: Jian-Hua Sun, Professor, Chief Physician, Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 155 Hanzhong Road, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China. drjhsun@sina.com
Received: September 3, 2015 Revised: November 4, 2015 Accepted: November 17, 2015 Published online: December 28, 2015
Intestinal flora has proved to be closely related to the onset of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are the main product of flora metabolism as well as important messenger molecules in the gut, playing a role in maintaining the stability of microorganism community structure and in regulating intestinal immune response, motility and the epithelial barrier. Flora imbalance in IBS patients has a direct impact on the microbiota-SCFAs-intestinal epithelial cells signal pathway, which results in low-grade inflammation, increased intestinal permeability and abnormality of motility. Studying the role SCFA plays in the pathogenesis of IBS can expand our understanding of this disease and provide a new strategy for therapy.
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