Intestinal bacteria hijack an evolutionarily conserved epithelial repair signal
Sam Benson, Priscilla Chin, Sebastian Rogatti, Alessandro Scopelliti, Luigi Zechini, Rosalind Heron, Charlotte Dawson, Anna E. Davey, Mariska S. Simpson, Amanda O. Wong, Jair Marques, Alex von Kriegsheim, David Harold Dockrell, Christopher D. Lucas, Jenna L. Cash, , Christopher J. Anderson
The paper identifies hypoxanthine as a key metabolite released during apoptosis that is consumed by gut bacteria, impairing epithelial repair.
bioRxiv · Aug 11, 2026 · PreprintMicrobiology