Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, arise when there is a dysregulation of cell signalling pathways, leading to a chronic inflammatory response. The gut inflammatory response relies on a chain reaction involving several molecules, including RIPK2 — known to be a good target for inhibitors treating IBDs. Researchers from the Cusack group at EMBL Grenoble have provided new insights into the interactions between RIPK2 and XIAP, another molecule involved in the inflammatory response, during the downstream chain reaction. These results, when taken together with previous structural biology studies on RIPK2, offer valuable information for the development of therapeutics to treat inflammatory bowel diseases.