Is there a role for therapeutic sphingolipids in inflammatory bowel disease?

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which include Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are lifetime chronic inflammatory disorders. Over the past few decades, new therapeutic approaches, including early and more effective intervention with immunomodulators and biological agents, increased the possibility of a favorable modification of the natural history of IBD. Despite this progress, there is still a need to explore new therapeutic options. Area covered: Here, we review the literature about the role of therapeutic sphingolipids in inflammatory bowel disease patients. Expert opinion: Despite the great increase of treatment options in the last 20 years, many patients still do not respond to the induction therapy (primary non-responders) or lose response over time (secondary responders). Small-molecule drugs are a promising group of drugs with low molecular weight, an oral route of administration, and low immunogenicity offering several advantages when compared to biologics such as anti-TNFs and anti-integrins. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulators are some among the new small molecules currently under clinical investigation for the treatment of IBD.