In a mouse model of Crohn’s disease, sodium butyrate feeding before TNBS-induced colitis significantly protected mice from inflammation and intestinal barrier dysfunction by binding G-protein-coupled Receptor 109 A (GPR109A), inhibiting histone deacetylases and suppressing pro-inflammatory pathways (Chen et al., 2018; Dou et al., 2020). The gene discussed is HCAR2; the disease is Crohn disease.