MAPK8 and colitis: Additionally, multiple preclinical studies have demonstrated that metformin reduces colitis severity by inhibiting key inflammatory pathways, including p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK), phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3), and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) (Deng et al., 2018; Di Fusco et al., 2018; El-Haggar et al., 2024).