Role of Intestinal Tight Junction in Ulcerative Colitis and Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Ulcerative colitis （UC）， a disease that affects the colon or rectum， is characterized by long-term recurrent inflammation and eventually leads to ulcers in the inner wall of the intestine. The disease has a high incidence and is difficult to be cured， which causes severe physical and mental discomfort and economic burden to the patients. Therefore， it is urgent to develop new therapies with high cure rate and low side effect. The pathological mechanism of UC is complex and involves multiple factors. The intestinal mucosal barrier damage is the main pathological basis of UC， which is a hot topic and a new research direction. Intestinal tight junction （TJ）， as the structural basis of the intestinal mucosal mechanical barrier， can actively regulate mucosal function and play a key role in the pathogenesis of UC. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） can regulate TJ protein via multiple pathways and multiple targets， repair the intestinal mucosal barrier， and thus block the progression of UC. Studies have demonstrated that Chinese herbal medicines and their components， Chinese medicine compound prescriptions， and Chinese medicine preparations can treat UC by regulating TJ protein to maintain the function and reduce the permeability of intestinal epithelium， providing a new therapeutic strategy for UC. Although TCM has unique advantages that western medicine cannot replace by mediating TJ protein expression in UC， a comprehensive review of this field remains to be carried out. Focusing on the status of UC and TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment， we retrieved relevant articles with ''ulcerative colitis''， ''tight junction''， and ''Chinese medicine'' as the keywords， and summarized the relationship of TJ and its key target proteins with UC to clarify the critical role of TJ in UC pathophysiology. Furthermore， we summarized the Chinese medicines regulating TJ in the treatment of UC in recent years， aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the development of drugs for this disease.