Implications of Bifidobacterium and deoxycholic acid in high-fat diet-associated colitis: Harnessing macrophage plasticity to modulate disease progression

This editorial comments on the study by Yang et al published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology , which investigates the mechanistic link between a high-fat diet (HFD), the gut microbial metabolite deoxycholic acid (DCA), macrophage polarization, and colonic inflammation, while evaluating the protective role of Bifidobacterium . Using a mouse model, the authors demonstrate that HFD elevates fecal DCA levels, promotes infiltration and pro-inflammatory M1 polarization of