Treatment of Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis with Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma Translocation 1 Inhibitor MI-2 Is Associated with Restoration of Gut Immune Function and the Microbiota

Disruption of the healthy intestinal microbiome and homeostasis of the intestinal immune system, which are closely interactive, are two key factors for ulcerative colitis. Here, we show that MI-2, a selective inhibitor of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation-1 (MALT1), alleviated excessive inflammatory responses and was associated with restoration of healthy intestinal microbiome in mice suffering from dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. We found that the diversity of intestinal microbiome of mice with DSS-induced colitis was significantly lower than that of healthy mice. However, MI-2 treatment in mice with DSS-induced colitis resulted in restored microbially diverse populations. To understand the possibility of the beneficial effect of the restored microbially diverse populations of MI-2-treated mice with DSS-induced colitis, we showed that inserting fecal microbiota from MI-2-treated mice with DSS-induced colitis and healthy control mice into mice with DSS-induced colitis could alleviate symptoms of colitis. The possibility of MI-2 treatment in DSS-induced colitis, associated with restoration of healthy microbially diverse populations in addition to reshaping host immune modulating capacity by reducing inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1β [IL-1β], IL-17α, and IL-22), may be considered therapeutic for ulcerative colitis.