In addition, Spearman’s correlation analyses revealed that both YAP and Ki67 expression in epithelial cells correlated negatively with colitis severity (R = – 0.674, p < 0.0001; R = – 0.481, p < 0.0001, Fig. 1d,e) and YAP accumulation was positively associated with Ki67 expression in UC tissues (R = 0.536, p < 0.0001, Fig. 1f). Here, YAP1 is linked to colitis.