Huangqin Decoction Delays Progress of Colitis-Associated Carcinogenesis by Regulating Nrf2/HO-1 Antioxidant Signal Pathway in Mice.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Huangqin Decoction (HQD) on nuclear factor erythroid 2 related-factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase (HO-1) signaling pathway by inducing the colitis-associated carcinogenesis (CAC) model mice with azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). METHODS: The chemical components of HQD were analyzed by liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) to determine the molecular constituents of HQD. Totally 48 C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into 6 groups by a random number table, including control, model (AOM/DSS), mesalazine (MS), low-, medium-, and high-dose HQD (HQD-L, HQD-M, and HQD-H) groups, 8 mice in each group. Except for the control group, the mice in the other groups were intraperitoneally injected with AOM (10 mg/kg) and administrated with 2.5% DSS orally for 1 week every two weeks (totally 3 rounds of DSS) to construct a colitis-associated carcinogenesis mouse model. The mice in the HQD-L, HQD-M and HQD-H groups were given HQD by gavage at doses of 2.925, 5.85, and 11.7 g/kg, respectively; the mice in the MS group was given a suspension of MS at a dose of 0.043 g/kg (totally 11 weeks). The serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Nrf2, HO-1, and inhibitory KELCH like ECH-related protein 1 (Keap1) in colon tissue were detected by quantitative real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS analysis revealed that the chemical constituents of HQD include baicalin, paeoniflorin, and glycyrrhizic acid. Compared to the control group, significantly higher MDA levels and lower SOD levels were observed in the model group (P<0.05), whereas the expressions of Nrf2 and HO-1 were significantly decreased, and the expression of Keap1 increased (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, serum MDA level was decreased and SOD level was increased in the HQD-M, HQD-H and MS groups (P<0.05). Higher expressions of Nrf2 and HO-1 were observed in the HQD groups. CONCLUSION: HQD may regulate the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 in colon tissue, reduce the expression of MDA and increase the expression of SOD in serum, thus delaying the progress of CAC in AOM/DSS mice.

[Effects of Huangqin Tang on NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathway in mice model of ulcerative colitis].

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of Huangqin Tang(HQT) on the NLRP3/Caspase-1 signaling pathway in mice with DSS-induced ulcerative colitis(UC). C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group(DSS group), and low-, medium-and high-dose HQT groups(HQT-L, HQT-M, and HQT-H), and western medicine mesalazine group(western medicine group). The UC model was induced in mice. Subsequently, the mice in the HQT-L, HQT-M, HQT-H groups, and the western medicine group were given low-, medium-, high-dose HQT, and mesalazine suspension by gavage, respectively, while those in the blank and DSS groups were given an equal volume of distilled water by gavage. After 10 days of administration, the body weight, DAI scores, and colonic histopathological score of mice in each group were determined. The levels of IL-6, IL-10, IL-1ß, and TNF-α in serum were determined by ELISA. The mRNA expression of NLRP3 and Caspase-1 in colon tissues was determined by RT-qPCR. The protein expression of NLRP3 and Caspase-1 in colon tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. The results showed that compared with the blank group, the DSS group showed decreased body weight of mice and increased DAI scores and intestinal histopathological score. Compared with the DSS group, the HQT groups and the western medicine group showed improved DAI scores, especially in the HQT-M, HQT-H, and the western medicine groups(P<0.05). The intestinal histopathological scores of the HQT groups and the western medicine group significantly decreased, especially in the HQT-M, HQT-H, and the western medicine groups(P<0.05). In addition, compared with the blank group, the DSS group showed elevated expression of NLRP3 and Caspase-1 in colon tissues, increased serum levels of IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α, and decreased IL-10 level. Compared with the DSS group, the HQT groups and the western medicine group displayed decreased expression of NLRP3 and Caspase-1 in colon tissues, reduced serum levels of IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α, and increased IL-10 level. The improvement was the most significant in the HQT-H group and the western medicine group(P<0.01). In conclusion, HQT may reduce the expression of NLRP3 and Caspase-1 in colon tissues, reduce the se-rum levels of IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α, and increase the expression of IL-10 by regulating the classic pyroptosis pathway of NLRP3/Caspase-1, thereby improving the symptoms of intestinal injury and inflammatory infiltration of intestinal mucosa in DSS mice to achieve its therapeutic effect.

CCDC68 predicts poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer: a study based on TCGA data.

Background: The prognostic value of coiled-coil domain containing 68 (CCDC68) in colorectal cancer (CRC) is unclear. We evaluated the role of CCDC68 in CRC based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Methods: Patients with CRC were collected from TCGA. We determined CCDC68 expression using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Logistic analysis was applied to study the relationship between CCDC68 expression and clinicopathologic features. Cox regression and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to determine the predictive value of CCDC68 on clinical outcomes in CRC patients. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and the single-sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA) were also conducted to annotate the biological function of CCDC68. Results: Reduced CCDC68 expression in CRC was significantly correlated with N stage [odds ratio (OR) =0.95 for N1/N2 vs. N0], M stage (OR =0.91 for M1 vs. M0), pathologic stage (OR =0.95 for stage III/stage IV vs. stage I/stage II), neoplasm type (OR =0.92 for rectum adenocarcinoma vs. colon adenocarcinoma), tumor protein 53 (TP53) status [OR =0.93 for Mut (mutant) vs. WT (wild type)], and kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene (KRAS) status (OR =0.97 for Mut vs. WT) (all P values <0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that low CCDC68 expression had a poorer overall survival (OS) (P=0.008), progression-free interval (PFI) (P=0.006), and disease-specific survival (DSS) (P=0.023). Cox regression analysis revealed that CCDC68 was a risk factor for OS (P=0.047), PFI (P=0.048), and DSS (P=0.038). GSEA demonstrated that the chemokine signaling pathway, the Janus kinase-signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway, high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI)-mediated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), complement cascade, FcεRI-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, intestinal immune network for immunoglobulin A (IgA) production, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway were differentially enriched in the high CCDC68 expression phenotype, while the Wnt signaling pathway was significantly enriched in the low CCDC68 expression phenotype. SsGSEA found that CCDC68 expression was positively correlated with T helper 2 (Th2) and T helper cells. Conclusions: CCDC68 expression may be a potential prognostic molecular marker for poor survival in CRC. Moreover, CCDC68 may participate in the development of CRC via multiple signaling pathways.

[Study on the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicines in promoting gastrointestinal peristalsis].

Traditional Chinese medicine has accumulated rich experience in treating dysfunction of gastrointestinal peristalsis. In recent years, a large number of studies have been made on the mechanism and effects of traditional Chinese medicines on the gastrointestinal peristalsis, and the concept of "gastrointestinal promoting Chinese medicine" has been advocated. These traditional Chinese medicines can be divided into three types: promoting the gastrointestinal peristalsis, inhibiting the gastrointestinal peristalsis, and bi-directional modulating. The in vivo and/or in vitro experiments showed that some of the traditional Chinese medicines for activating blood or regulating qi could promote the stomach peristalsis, and the traditional Chinese medicines for moistening intestines to relieve constipation or invigorating spleen to promote digestion could accelerate the intestinal peristalsis. The mechanism lies in the neuroregulation and gut-peptide regulation. Further research on multi-regulation and of multi-target should be done, for the mechanism of the traditional Chinese medicines in regulating the gastrointestinal peristalsis is far more complicated.