Research report: Vimentin neutralizing antibody ameliorate inflammatory bowel disease by inhibiting fibrosis and inflammatory cell death

In seven-week-old C57BL6 mice given dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), the treatment lowered total and cell-surface vimentin in colon tissues, reduced weight loss and colon shortening, and decreased the number of cells expressing fibrosis markers, inflammatory cytokines and necroptotic markers. The study tested an experimental antibody in animals and cells; it did not establish a clinical benefit in people with inflammatory bowel disease. Researchers induced colitis by providing the mice with drinking water containing 3% DSS for five days.

During this period, they administered the anti-vimentin antibody by intraperitoneal injection at a concentration of 3 milligrams per kilogram, repeating the treatment at three-day intervals. Compared with control-treated animals, antibody-treated mice experienced less body-weight loss and less colon shortening, which the researchers used as indicators of reduced DSS-induced colitis severity. The findings therefore describe a measured effect in a specific preclinical model rather than an established human therapy.

Examination of colon tissue showed that anti-vimentin antibody treatment reduced the number of cells expressing markers associated with fibrosis, inflammation and necroptosis. Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein closely linked with fibrosis and several inflammatory pathways, and the investigators reported that it is elevated in inflammatory bowel disease tissues. Instead, it linked extracellular-vimentin neutralization with simultaneous changes in several markers and outcomes associated with DSS-induced colitis.

The researchers also examined CCD-18CO human colon epithelial cells. In that culture system, TGFβ increased fibrosis markers, while stimulation with vimentin protein enhanced the increases. Adding the anti-vimentin antibody reduced the levels of fibrosis-related factors under these conditions.

This cell experiment provides mechanistic support for an effect on the fibrotic response, although the cultured epithelial-cell system does not encompass the complete immune, microbial and tissue environment of inflammatory bowel disease. The authors described the findings as the first report of a therapeutic effect of an anti-vimentin antibody on pathogenic mechanisms associated with inflammatory bowel disease. They stated that further studies are needed to confirm its therapeutic potential in clinical settings.

The results support continued investigation of extracellular-vimentin neutralization, but they remain preclinical evidence from DSS-treated mice and human colon epithelial cells, not evidence that the antibody controls inflammatory bowel disease in patients.

Subject of Research: Preclinical anti-vimentin antibody effects in an inflammatory bowel disease model and human colon epithelial cells

Article Title: Vimentin neutralizing antibody ameliorate inflammatory bowel disease by inhibiting fibrosis and inflammatory cell death

Article References: Kim, S., Kang, H. Y., Park, J.-S., Choi, J., Jeong, H. Y., Lee, S. Y., Lee, H. H., Lee, B.-I., & Cho, M.-L. (2026). Vimentin neutralizing antibody ameliorate inflammatory bowel disease by inhibiting fibrosis and inflammatory cell death. PLOS One, 21(10), e0352641. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0352641

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0352641

Keywords: inflammatory bowel disease, anti-vimentin antibody, vimentin, intestinal fibrosis, necroptosis, dextran sodium sulfate, colitis, TGFβ, human colon epithelial cells, preclinical research, neutralizing, antibody