In the context of inflammatory bowel diseases and chronic colitis, one of the major complications is the development of intestinal fibrosis and reduced gut motility (Baumgart & Sandborn, 2007), owing to the expansion of profibrotic fibroblast subsets that deposit extracellular matrix components including collagens and fibronectin (Andoh et al, 2007). Here, FN1 is linked to inflammatory bowel disease.