Shaoyao decoction restores the mucus layer in mice with DSS-induced colitis by regulating Notch signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Restoring the mucus layer is a potential strategy for treating ulcerative colitis (UC). Previous studies reported that a Chinese medicine formula Shaoyao Decoction (SYD) effectively improved UC. However, the role and mechanism of SYD in restoring the mucus layer are still vague. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to research the therapeutical effects and unravel the involved mechanism of SYD on DSS-evoked UC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, the constituents of SYD were detected by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. Then, the DSS-induced UC model was introduced to investigate the pharmacologic action and molecular mechanism of SYD on UC. Pharmacodynamic indicators were assessed including body weight, colon length, ulcerations, disease activity index (DAI), inflammatory cytokines and histological parameters. To investigate the integrality and functions of the mucous layer, AB-PAS stain and UEA-1 stain were used to evaluate the completeness of mucous layer, as well as the maturation of goblet cells (GCs). The bacterial invasion was detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization. As to mechanism exploration, the expressions of Notch/Hes1 pathway were investigated by using agonists in lipopolysaccharides (LPS) -stimulated LS174T cell. RESULTS: After modeling in mice, SYD remarkedly ameliorated the symptoms of mouse colitis, the expression of pro-inflammatory factors declined, and increased IL-10 expression was observed in SYD-treated mice. Besides, SYD repaired the structure of the mucus layer and prevented bacterial invasion. Mechanism investigation discovered that SYD promoted GCs differentiation by inhibiting the Notch pathway, which was consistent with the results in LPS-challenged LS174 cell. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrated that SYD could restore the mucus layer to prevent UC via suppressing the Notch signaling pathway, which provided evidences for the UC treatment of SYD in the clinic.

Aloin A prevents ulcerative colitis in mice by enhancing the intestinal barrier function via suppressing the Notch signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies reported that Aloe vera ameliorated DSS-induced colitis and promoted mucus secretion. However, the effect of Aloin A (AA), a major compound of Aloe vera, on colitis and its exact mechanism remains uncovered. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were successively subjected to 3% DSS solution for 5 days and distilled water for 2 days. Concurrently, AA (25, 50 mg/kg) and 5-aminosalicylic (500 mg/kg) were administrated intragastrically from day 1 to day 7. Colitis was evaluated by disease active index (DAI), colon length, inflammation response, and intestinal barrier function. In vitro LS174T cells challenged with 50 ng/ml of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were used to validate the modulatory action of AA on the Notch signaling pathway. RESULTS: Our results showed that oral administration with AA prominently prevented DSS-induced colitis symptoms in terms of decreased DAI, prevention of colon shortening, and reduced pathological damage. AA mitigated the inflammatory response evidenced by the decreased proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6) and increased anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10). Besides, AA inhibited apoptosis and facilitated proliferation in colons. Moreover, AA treatment up-regulated the expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins (ZO-1, Occludin) and promoted the secretion of MUC2 to decrease colon permeability. Mechanistically, AA inhibited the Notch pathway to promote the secretion of MUC2, which was consistent with LPS-challenged LS174 cells. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that AA could prevent colitis by enhancing the intestinal barrier function via suppressing the Notch signaling pathway. Thus, AA might be a prospective remedy for ulcerative colitis.

Comparative effects of different enzymatic hydrolysates of konjac glucomannan on gut flora and constipation in rats.

This study aimed to compare the effects of different hydrolysates (named GKOS and MKOS) on constipated rats, which were obtained by degradation from konjac glucomannan by ß-glucanase and ß-mannanase, respectively. GKOS and MKOS were characterized and administered by gavage at 100 mg kg-1 to constipated rats. The variation of the gut flora, content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), defecation function, gastrointestinal motility, and intestinal mucus secretion were determined to evaluate their regulatory effects on constipation. The results revealed the more prominent augmentation of species richness in MKOS than with GKOS. They also possessed diverse modulatory effects on different genera, such as Prevotella and Parabacteroides. Unexpectedly, there was no statistical divergence between GKOS and MKOS in defecation parameters, gastrointestinal transit, serum parameters, and mucous secretion. Overall, MKOS and GKOS exhibited differential regulatory function on gut microbiota in vivo, but with nearly consistent therapeutic effects on constipation.

Ultrasensitive detection of deltamethrin by immune magnetic nanoparticles separation coupled with surface plasmon resonance sensor.

Small molecules or analytes present in trace level are difficult to be detected directly using conventional surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor, due to its small changes in the refractive index induced by the binding of these analytes on the sensor surface. In this paper, a new approach that combines SPR sensor technology with Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) assays is developed for directly detecting of deltamethrin in soybean. The Fe3O4 MNPs conjugated with antibodies specific to antigen serves as both labels for enhancing refractive index change due to the capture of target analyte, and "vehicles" for the rapid delivery of analyte from a sample solution to the sensor surface. Meanwhile, SPR direct detection format without Fe3O4 MNPs and gas chromatography (GC) analysis were conducted for detection of deltamethrin in soybean to demonstrate the amplification effect of Fe3O4 MNPs. A good linear relationship was obtained between SPR responses and deltamethrin concentrations over a range of 0.01-1 ng/mL with the lowest measurable concentration of 0.01 ng/mL. The results reveal that the detection sensitivity for deltamethrin was improved by 4 orders of magnitude compared with SPR direct detection format. The recovery of 95.5-119.8% was obtained in soybean. The excellent selectivity of the present biosensor is also confirmed by two kinds of pesticides (fenvalerate and atrazine) as controls. This magnetic separation and amplification strategy has great potential for detection of other small analytes in trace level concentration, with high selectivity and sensitivity by altering the target-analyte-capture agent labeled to the carboxyl-coated Fe3O4 MNPs.