Protective Effect of Tangshen Formula () on Interstitial Cells of Cajal in Colon of Diabetic Rats / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the effect of Tangshen Formula (, TSF), a Chinese herbal medicine, on interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in the colon of diabetic rats.@*METHODS@#Fifty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control (NC, n=14) and high-fat diet (HFD) groups (n=40). After 6 weeks, the rats in the HFD group were injected intraperitoneally streptozotocin once (30 mg/kg). Thirty rats with fasting blood glucose higher than 11.7 mmol/L were randomly divided into diabetes (DM) and TSF groups, 15 rats in each group. Rats in the NC and DM groups were intragastrically administered with saline, and those in the TSF group were given with TSF (2.4 g/kg) once daily for 20 weeks. Expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 in colonic smooth muscle layer were measured by Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. The number of ICC was determined by immunohistochemical staining. Immunofluorescence was used for analyzing the ratio of classically activated macrophages (M1) and alternatively activated macrophages (M2) to total macrophages. Electron microscopy was used to observe the epithelial ultrastructure and junctions.@*RESULTS@#TSF appeared to partially prevented loss of ICC in DM rats (P<0.05). Compared with the NC group, expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, and TNF-α as well as the ratio of M1 to total macrophages increased in DM rats (all P<0.05), and the ratio of M2 to total macrophages decreased (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with the DM group, TSF decreased the expression levels of abovementioned proteins and restore M2 to total macrophages ratio (P<0.05 or P<0.01). TSF appeared to attenuate the ultrastructural changes of epithelia and improve the tight and desmosome junctions between epithelia reduced in the DM rats.@*CONCLUSION@#Reduced number of ICC in DM rats may be associated with damage of the intestinal barrier. The protective effects of TSF on ICC may be through repair of the epithelial junctions, which attenuates inflammation and inflammation-initiated apoptosis in colon of DM rats.

Research advances in gene expressions and related signal transduction in the tight junction of intestinal epithelium / 中华临床营养杂志

The tight junction of intestinal epithelium plays an important role in maintaining the function of intestinal barrier and regulating the cell differentiation. The intestinal epithelial cells interact with neighboring cells and the extracellular matrix and then affect the epithelial barrier as well as the proliferation, polarization, and apoptosis of cells. As an important cell junction, the tight junction of intestinal epithelium participates in a series of signal transduction pathways including the classic cyclic adenosine monophosphate-protein kinase A-cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding, inositol trisphosphate, Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and in some special pathways including zonula occludents protein 1-associated Y-box factor,cyclin related protein, phosphorylation, and methylation. Furthermore, regulations of gene and protein expression of the tight junction are also complex, while disorders of such regulations may lead to clinical diseases, such as disruption of the intestinal barrier, refractory infection, and even cancers. This article reviews the research advances in gene expressions, related signal transduction, and self-regulation in the tight junction of intestinal epithelium.

Research progress of lactobacillus surface layer protein / 肠外与肠内营养

Lactobacillus can maintain the stability of microbiological environment in intestine and its surface layer protein controls the biological function of intestinal epithelia cells. The mechanism of adhering had been studied. In this article, we review the progress of surface layer protein in the study of the isolation, identification and the biological reaction with the intestinal epithelia cells .

The intestinal tight junction and the related diseases / 肠外与肠内营养

Tight junctions(TJ) are the primary junctions between intestinal epithelia.TJ serves as the maintenance of epithelial cell polarity and the rate-limiting barrier to passive movement of hydrophilic solutes across intestinal epithelia.The disrupture of TJ may cause or promote some diseases.This review is about structure,biological functions,molecular regulating mechanisms of intestinal epithelial tight junctions and some related diseases.