biostudies-literatureHe GNatural Science Foundation of Henan Province (Henan Province Natural Science Foundation)China Postdoctoral Science FoundationNational Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China)395https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11890729biostudies-literatureUnknown8(1)Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing, and remitting disease characterized by chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. The exact etiology and pathogenesis of IBD remain elusive. Although ELF-1 has been known to be highly expressed in epithelial cells for past twenty years, little is known about its function in epithelial cells and epithelial-related IBD. Here, we demonstrated that ELF-1 deficiency in mouse lead to exacerbated DSS-induced colitis, marked by inflammation dominated by neutrophil infiltration and activation of IL-17 signaling pathways in various immune cells, including Th17, ILC3, γδT and NKT cells. Bone marrow transfer experiments confirmed ELF-1 deficiency in non-hematopoietic cells intrinsically worsened DSS-induced colitis. On one hand, ELF-1 Communications biologyTranscription factor ELF-1 protects against colitis by maintaining intestinal epithelium homeostasis.PMC118907298119000242323004211802019M662542, 2020T130606Luan YYang JZheng HWang PYang KHe GZhang HLiu PXuan XZhang MLi QYang QfalseTranscription factor ELF-1 protects against colitis by maintaining intestinal epithelium homeostasis.Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing, and remitting disease characterized by chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. The exact etiology and pathogenesis of IBD remain elusive. Although ELF-1 has been known to be highly expressed in epithelial cells for past twenty years, little is known about its function in epithelial cells and epithelial-related IBD. Here, we demonstrated that ELF-1 deficiency in mouse lead to exacerbated DSS-induced colitis, marked by inflammation dominated by neutrophil infiltration and activation of IL-17 signaling pathways in various immune cells, including Th17, ILC3, γδT and NKT cells. Bone marrow transfer experiments confirmed ELF-1 deficiency in non-hematopoietic cells intrinsically worsened DSS-induced colitis. On one hand, ELF-1 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Mar2025-04-04T08:22:57.334Z2025-04-04T08:22:57.334ZS-EPMC118907294005759210.1038/s42003-025-07742-4