Application of metabolomics in irritable bowel syndrome in recent 5 years.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders worldwide, characterized by chronic abdominal pain or discomfort and altered bowel habits. To date, the exact pathogenesis of IBS remains elusive, but is clearly multifactorial, including environmental and host factors. However, the management of patients with IBS is challenging and the current diagnostic and therapeutic modalities have unsatisfactory outcomes. Therefore, it is important to develop more effective methods to diagnose IBS early. Metabolomics studies the metabolites most closely related to patient characteristics, which can provide useful clinical biomarkers that can be applied to IBS and may open up new diagnostic approaches. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can play a role in improving symptoms and protecting target organs, but its mechanism needs to be studied in depth. In this review, based on PubMed/MEDLINE and other databases, we searched metabolomics studies related to IBS in the past 5 years, including those related to clinical studies and animal studies, as well as literatures on TCM interventions in IBS, to provide an updated overview of the application of metabolomics to the diagnosis and treatment of IBS and the improvement of IBS by TCM.

The role of CXCL family members in different diseases.

Chemokines are a large family mediating a lot of biological behaviors including chemotaxis, tumor growth, angiogenesis and so on. As one member of this family, CXC subfamily possesses the same ability. CXC chemokines can recruit and migrate different categories of immune cells, regulate tumor's pathological behaviors like proliferation, invasion and metastasis, activate angiogenesis, etc. Due to these characteristics, CXCL subfamily is extensively and closely associated with tumors and inflammatory diseases. As studies are becoming more and more intensive, CXCLs' concrete roles are better described, and CXCLs' therapeutic applications including biomarkers and targets are also deeply explained. In this review, the role of CXCL family members in various diseases is summarized.

Exploring the mechanism of Jianpi Huatan recipe in protecting hepatocellular carcinoma based on network pharmacology.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Jianpi Huatan Recipe (JPHTR) is an effective prescription for delaying progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) provided by Longhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of traditional Chinese Medicine, and it is consisted of nine traditional Chinese drugs, but the protective mechanism of JPHTR against HCC progression is unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: To study the mechanism of JPHTR preventing the progression of HCC based on the network pharmacology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The chemical component and potential gene targets of JPHTR and the important gene targets of HCC were obtained by retrieving traditional Chinese medicine network pharmacology analysis system (TCMNPAS) database. The data obtained from the database are used to construct the drugs-chemical component-targets network and protein-protein interaction network by using Cytoscape software and STRING database. The potential targets of JPHTR and HCC targets were imported into TCMNPAS-related modules in order to obtain the Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment pathways. Finally, we used HCC rat model to verify the vital signaling pathways predicted by network pharmacology. RESULTS: A total of 197 potential compounds and 721 potential targets of JPHTR and 611 important gene targets of HCC were obtained. Through the experiment in vivo, it was found that JPHTR can reduce the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase, reduce the lipid droplets and inflammatory injury of liver tissue, and reduce the mRNA expression of Interleukin-6 (Il-6), Janus tyrosine Kinase2 (Jak2) and Forkhead box O3 (Foxo3) in FOXO pathway in the liver, thus delaying the development of HCC. CONCLUSION: Through network pharmacology and rat experiments, it is preliminarily confirmed that JPHTR may delay the progression of HCC by regulating the expression of Il-6/Jak2/Foxo3 in FOXO signal pathway, which is expected to be a new therapeutic target for the protection of HCC.

Qinggan Huoxue Recipe attenuates Alcoholic Liver Disease by suppressing PI3K/AKT signaling pathway based on network pharmacology.

Qinggan Huoxue Recipe (QGHXR) is originated from Xiao Chaihu Decotion. Many experimental studies have confirmed that QGHXR can significantly alleviate the symptoms of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), but the detailed mechanism is still unclear. Using traditional Chinese medicine network pharmacology analysis system database and animal experiments, we found that 180 potentially chemical compositions and 618 potential targets were screened from the prescription, which shared 133 signal pathways with ALD. Through animal experiments, it was found that QGHXR could reduce the liver total cholesterol (TC), serum TC, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase of ALD mice, reduce the lipid droplets and inflammatory injury of liver tissue. Meanwhile, it can also increase PTEN, decrease PI3K and AKT mRNA levels. In this study, we obtained the targets and pathways of QGHXR in the treatment of ALD, and preliminatively verified that QGHXR may improve ALD through PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Progress and challenges of multidrug resistance proteins in diseases.

Chemotherapy remains the first choice for patients with advanced cancers when other treatments are ineffective. Multidrug resistance (MDR) is an unavoidable factor that negatively affects the effectiveness of cancer chemotherapy drugs. Researchers are trying to reduce MDR, improve the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs, and alleviate patient suffering to positively contribute to disease treatment. MDR also occurs in inflammation and genetic disorders, which increases the difficulty of clinically beneficial treatments. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) is an active transporter that plays an important role in the barrier and secretory functions of many normal cells. As the C subfamily in the ABC family, multidrug resistance proteins (MRPs/ABCCs) export a variety of antitumour drugs and are expressed in a variety of cancers. The present review summarises the role of MRPs in cancer and other diseases and recent research progress of MRP inhibitors to better examine the mechanism and function of MRPs, and establish a good relationship with clinical treatment.

Metabolomics window into the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in recent 5 years.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a kind of chronic inflammation that occurs in gastrointestinal tract, including Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). Although UC and CD are associated with intestinal inflammation and epithelial damage, they are quite different. The etiology of IBD has not been fully determined, but there is extensive evidence that its pathogenesis involves environmental, genetic, immune and microbial factors. The diagnosis and treatment of IBD is challenging due to its recurrent episodes and complex evolution. Metabolomics, as a new developing technology, can be used to qualitatively and quantitatively study small metabolic molecules in samples of patients, which include stool, urine, serum, plasma and tissues, and is increasingly valued in the diagnosis and treatment of IBD. This article sums up the recent progress of metabolomics in helping to diagnose and treat IBD diseases, hoping to provide biomarkers and new targets for the diagnosis and treatment of IBD. In addition, we present the limitations of the current study of metabolomics and highlight some solutions.

The mechanism of branched-chain amino acid transferases in different diseases: Research progress and future prospects.

It is well known that the enzyme catalyzes the first step of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism is branched-chain amino transferase (BCAT), which is involved in the synthesis and degradation of leucine, isoleucine and valine. There are two main subtypes of human branched chain amino transferase (hBCAT), including cytoplasmic BCAT (BCAT1) and mitochondrial BCAT (BCAT2). In recent years, the role of BCAT in tumors has attracted the attention of scientists, and there have been continuous research reports that BCAT plays a role in the tumor, Alzheimer's disease, myeloid leukaemia and other diseases. It plays a significant role in the growth and development of diseases, and new discoveries about this gene in some diseases are made every year. BCAT usually promotes cancer proliferation and invasion by activating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway and activating Wnt/ß-catenin signal transduction. This article reviews the role and mechanism of BCAT in different diseases, as well as the recent biomedical research progress. This review aims to make a comprehensive summary of the role and mechanism of BCAT in different diseases and to provide new research ideas for the treatment, prognosis and prevention of certain diseases.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor, a new therapeutic direction in different diseases.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor (S1PR), as a kind of G protein-coupled receptor, has five subtypes, including S1PR1, S1PR2, S1PR3, S1PR4, and S1PR5. Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor (S1P) and S1PR regulate the trafficking of neutrophils and some cells, which has great effects on immune systems, lung tissue, and liver tissue. Presently, many related reports have proved that S1PR has a strong effect on the migration of lymphocytes, tumor cells, neutrophils, and many other cells via the regulation of signals, pathways, and enzymes. In this way, S1PR can regulate the relative response of the organism. Thus, S1PR has become a possible target for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, pulmonary disease, liver disease, and cancer. In this review, we mainly focus on the research of the S1PR for the new therapeutic directions of different diseases and is expected to assist support in the clinic and drug use.

Recent update on application of dihydromyricetin in metabolic related diseases.

As a new type of natural flavonoids, dihydromyricetin (DMY) has attracted more and more attention. It has a series of pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, antibacterial and so on, and it is almost no toxicity and with excellent safety. Therefore, even if the bioavailability is poor, it is often added to daily food, beverages and even medicines. In recent years, some researchers have found that DMY can treat some diseases by anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, promoting cell death and regulate the activity of lipid and glucose metabolism. In addition, the mechanism of DMY on these diseases was also related to the signal pathway of AMPK, PI3K/Akt, PPAR and the participation of microRNAs. This review describes the mechanism of DMY in metabolic related diseases from three aspects: metabolic diseases, liver diseases, and cancers, hoping to provide some new ideas for clinical researches.

LCAT- targeted therapies: Progress, failures and future.

Lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is the only enzyme in plasma which is able to esterify cholesterol and boost cholesterol esterify with phospholipid-derived acyl chains. In order to better understand the progress of LCAT research, it is always inescapable that it is linked to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism and reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). Because LCAT plays a central role in HDL metabolism and RCT, many animal studies and clinical studies are currently aimed at improving plasma lipid metabolism by increasing LCAT activity in order to find better treatment options for familial LCAT deficiency (FLD), fish eye disease (FED), and cardiovascular disease. Recombinant human LCAT (rhLCAT) injections, cells and gene therapy, and small molecule activators have been carried out with promising results. Recently rhLCAT therapies have entered clinical phase II trials with good prospects. In this review, we discuss the diseases associated with LCAT and therapies that use LCAT as a target hoping to find out whether LCAT can be an effective therapeutic target for coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. Also, probing the mechanism of action of LCAT may help better understand the heterogeneity of HDL and the action mechanism of dynamic lipoprotein particles.

The biochemical and clinical implications of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten in different cancers.

Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) is widely known as a tumor suppressor gene. It is located on chromosome 10q23 with 200 kb, and has dual activity of both protein and lipid phosphatase. In addition, as a targeted gene in multiple pathways, PTEN has a variety of physiological activities, such as those regulating the cell cycle, inducing cell apoptosis, and inhibiting cell invasion, etc. The PTEN gene have been identified in many kinds of cancers due to its mutations, deletions and inactivation, such as lung cancer, liver cancer, and breast cancer, and they are closely connected with the genesis and progression of cancers. To a large extent, the tumor suppressive function of PTEN is realized through its inhibition of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway which controls cells apoptosis and development. In addition, PTEN loss has been associated with the prognosis of many cancers, such as lung cancer, liver cancer, and breast cancer. PTEN gene is related to many cancers and their pathological development. On the basis of a large number of related studies, this study describes in detail the structure, regulation, function and classical signal pathways of PTEN, as well as the relationship between various tumors related to PTEN. In addition, some drug studies targeting PTEN/PI3K/AKT/mTOR are also introduced in order to provide some directions for experimental research and clinical treatment of tumors.