Dextran Sulfate Sodium Salt (DSS) is a sulfated polysaccharide widely used to induce ulcerative colitis (UC) in experimental animals. Although the exact mechanism behind DSS-induced colitis remains incompletely understood, several factors are known to contribute: dysfunction of macrophages, disruption of gut microbiota, direct epithelial toxicity of DSS, and abnormal cytokine responses in the colon. Together, these effects reproduce the inflammatory and histopathological characteristics of human UC, making DSS a preferred reagent for modeling inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the laboratory.
Case Study 1: Oral DSS Administration in Young Rats
Experimental design:
- Animals: Rats, 1 week old, ~100 g
- Protocol: 5% DSS, administered by gavage (3.5 mL/100 g) daily for 2 weeks
- Analysis: HE staining of colon sections
Results:
UC rats exhibited shortened colon length and severe mucosal abnormalities with extensive inflammatory cell infiltration.
Figure 1. (a) Colon length comparison between healthy and UC rats; (b) HE staining of colon tissue sections.
Case Study 2: DSS in Drinking Water
Experimental design:
- Animals: Rats, 8 weeks old, ~200 g
- Protocol: Continuous administration of 3.5% DSS in drinking water for 10 days
- Analysis: HE staining
Results:
Significant disruption of the colonic mucosal architecture was observed in DSS-treated rats.
Figure 2. HE-stained colon sections from healthy and UC rats.
Case Study 3: Chronic UC Model Through Repeated DSS Cycles
Experimental design:
- Animals: Rats, 7 weeks old, 300–320 g
- Protocol: 2.0% DSS in drinking water for 7 days, followed by 7 days of distilled water; repeated for four cycles
- Analysis: HE staining
Results:
Chronic mucosal damage and inflammation were evident, mimicking long-term UC pathology.
Figure 3. Schematic of DSS administration and histopathological results.
Yeasen DSS — Reliable Performance for UC and CAC Research
Yeasen offers high-quality Dextran Sulfate Sodium Salt (Cat. No.: 60316ES, MW: 36,000–50,000) designed for reproducible UC model establishment.
Key Advantages:
- High purity (>98%) with sulfur content 17–19% and free sulfur <0.2% — verified across extensive published studies.
- Versatile across species: Successfully induces colitis in rats, mice, zebrafish, pigs, and Drosophila.
- Human-like UC symptoms: Suitable for investigating both acute and chronic colitis, as well as for drug efficacy evaluation.
- Simple and reproducible: Easy to perform with high modeling success rates.
- Flexible model expansion: In combination with azoxymethane (AOM), DSS enables the establishment of colitis-associated cancer (CAC) models — accurately replicating the IBD-to-CAC transition process.
DSS-induced colitis remains one of the most practical and reproducible models for studying intestinal inflammation and its progression to colorectal cancer. With Yeasen’s high-purity DSS, researchers can achieve consistent, high-fidelity results that closely mirror the pathological features of human UC — accelerating discoveries in IBD pathogenesis and therapeutic development.
Related Products
|
Name |
Cat. No. |
Size |
|
ColitCare™ Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS), Colitis Grade MW: 36000~50000 |
60316ES25/60/76/80 |
25 g/100 g/500 g/1 kg |
|
Hematoxylin and Eosin Staining Kit |
60524ES60 |
2× 100 mL |
Published Studies Using Yeasen DSS
2024
[1]Zhong D, Jin K, Wang R, ,et al. Microalgae-Based Hydrogel for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Its Associated Anxiety and Depression. Adv Mater. 2024 Jan 26:e2312275. doi: 10.1002/adma.202312275. IF=29.4
[2] Zhang Y, Tu S, Ji X, Wu J, Meng J, Gao J, Shao X, Shi S, Wang G, Qiu J, Zhang Z, Hua C, Zhang Z, Chen S, Zhang L, Zhu SJ. Dubosiella newyorkensis modulates immune tolerance in colitis via the L-lysine-activated AhR-IDO1-Kyn pathway. Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 13;15(1):1333. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45636-x. IF= 16.6
2022
[1]Mengmeng Xu, Ying Kong, Nannan Chen,et al.Identification of Immune-Related Gene Signature and Prediction of CeRNA Network in Active Ulcerative Colitis[J].Frontiers in Immunology.2022; 13: 855645. IF=7.561
[2]Lujuan Xing, Lijuan Fu, Songmin Cao,et al.The Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Bovine Bone-Gelatin-Derived Peptides in LPS-Induced RAW264.7 Macrophages Cells and Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced C57BL/6 Mice[J]. Nutrients 2022, 14, 1479. IF=5.717
[3]Wang S, Huang J, Tan KS, et al.Isosteviol Sodium Ameliorates Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Chronic Colitis through the Regulation of Metabolic Profiling, Macrophage Polarization, and NF-B Pathway[J].Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. 2022,4636618. IF=5.076
[4]YuangengLi, PingYu, WenwenFu, et al.Polysaccharides from Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer alleviated DSS-induced IBD by inhibiting JAK2/STAT1/NLPR3 inflammasome signalling pathway in mice[J].Journal of Functional Foods.2022, 105013. IF=4.451
[5]Lei-NingChen, TaoJing, Zi-BinLin, et al.Metabolomic and transcriptomic responses of mouse testis to the dextran sulfate sodium induced colitis[J].Reproductive Toxicology.2022, Pages 35-42. IF=3.143
2021
[1]Li Zhao, Fei Wang, Zhengwei Cai, et al.Improving drug utilization platform with injectable mucoadhesive hydrogel for treating ulcerative colitis[J]. chemical engineering journal.424(2021)130464.IF=16.744
[2]Lingjun Tong, Haining Hao, Zhe Zhang, et al.Milk-derived extracellular vesicles alleviate ulcerative colitis by regulating the gut immunity and reshaping the gut microbiota[J].Theranostics.2021; 11(17): 8570-8586 IF=11.556
[3]Jingjing Gan, Yuxiao Liu, Lingyu Sun, et al.Orally administrated nucleotide-delivery particles from microfluidics for inflammatory bowel disease treatment[J]. Applied Materials Today.2021 Dec;25:101231. IF=10.041
[4]JialiDong, YuanLi,HuiwenXiao, et al.Oral microbiota affects the efficacy and prognosis of radiotherapy for colorectal cancer in mouse models[J].Cell reports.2021, 109886.IF=9.423
[5]Hao H, Zhang X, Tong L, Liu Q, et al.Lactobacillus plantarumEffect of Extracellular Vesicles Derived From Q7 on Gut Microbiota and Ulcerative Colitis in Mice[J].Frontiers in Immunology.2021.777147. IF=7.561
[6]Yaohua Fan, Yanqun Fan, Kunfeng Liu, et al.Edible Bird’s Nest Ameliorates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Ulcerative Colitis in C57BL/6J Mice by Restoring the Th17/Treg Cell Balance[J].Frontiers in Pharmacology.2021.632602. IF=7.561
2020
[1]Li, Y., Dong, J., Xiao, H., Zhang, S., Wang, B., Cui, M., & Fan, S. Gut commensal derived-valeric acid protects against radiation injuries. Gut Microbes,.2020 .1–18.IF=10.245
[2]Jia-Rong Huang, Sheng-Te Wang, Meng-Ning Wei, et al.Piperlongumine Alleviates Mouse Colitis and Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer[J].Frontiers in Pharmacology.2020.586885. IF=7.561
[3]Gao X, Fan W, Tan L, et al. Soy isoflavones ameliorate experimental colitis by targeting ERα/NLRP3 inflammasome pathways[J]. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 2020, 83. IF=6.048