New research published today stem cell report We demonstrate how a human stem cell-derived intestinal model can be used to identify potential treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and highlight glycyrrhizin as a promising candidate for reducing intestinal inflammation and cell death.
The burden of IBD is increasing globally, with an estimated 4 million people affected worldwide. The disease is characterized by chronic inflammation of the intestinal wall, causing symptoms such as persistent diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fatigue. Standard treatments include anti-inflammatory drugs and other immune-targeted therapies, but many patients have limited benefit.
High-throughput screening (HTS) provides a promising strategy for discovering new IBD treatments, but it relies on the existence of reliable human intestinal wall models for clinical testing. To address this, a team led by Masaru Takahashi at the University of Tokyo in Japan developed a stem cell-derived model of the human intestine and induced an IBD-like state by exposing the cells to primary inflammatory proteins associated with the patient’s disease. After confirming that the protein caused cell death and inflammation in a model, the researchers screened about 3,500 compounds using cell death as a primary readout.
Glycyrrhizin, a natural component of black licorice, has previously been shown to be effective in cellular and animal models of IBD and has emerged as one of the top hits to significantly prevent intestinal cell death. This effect was also observed in IBD mice, where glycyrrhizin reduced both intestinal inflammation and cell death.
These findings highlight the potential of human stem cell-derived IBD models as a powerful platform for drug discovery. Further clinical studies will be needed to determine whether glycyrrhizin can effectively alleviate IBD in patients while avoiding unwanted side effects.
sauce:
International Stem Cell Research Association
Reference magazines:
Takahashi, Y., Others. (2026). Organoid phenotypic screening identified glycyrrhizin, which confers protection against tumor necrosis factor-induced cell death. stem cell report. DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2026.102891. https://www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports/fulltext/S2213-6711(26)00102-5
