Alteration of the colon structure, including lower expression of ZO-1 and occludin, was among the important factors contributing to intestinal barrier disruption in IBD patients (Zhang et al., 2019) Treatment with the EPS derived from L. plantarum NMGL2 of this study increased the levels of ZO-1 and occludin in IBD mice, which strengthened the intestinal mucosa and alleviated enteritis in mice. The gene discussed is OCLN; the disease is inflammatory bowel disease.