For example, dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)‐induced experimental colitis is aggravated in animals lacking sphingosine 1‐phosphate lyase, the enzyme that degrades sphingosine‐1‐phosphate (S1P), whereas the severity of experimental colitis is diminished upon genetic knockout of sphingosine kinase 1 7. This evidence concerns the gene SPHK1 and colitis.