TNF and colitis: Other studies have shown that adherent-invasive E. coli disrupts the integrity of the epithelial barrier by invading intestinal epithelial cells and triggering mitochondrial destruction, which increases inflammation and accelerates the progression of colitis (Hamed et al., 2023), whereas A. muciniphila degrades mucins to produce acetic acid, activates adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase pathway, up-regulates tight junction proteins (ZO-1, occludin), thereby enhancing intestinal barrier and reducing pro-inflammatory factor (TNF-α, IL-6) secretion (Qian et al., 2022).