Liver fibrosis is a chronic liver injury caused by various pathogenic factors, leading to excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix such as collagen. It represents a common pathological hallmark during the progression of most chronic liver diseases. However, there is currently no universally recognized specific and effective drug for the clinical treatment of liver fibrosis. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of Alisma Rhizoma on bile duct ligation (BDL)-induced liver fibrosis and explores the potential pharmacological mechanisms. The animal experimental protocol was reviewed and approved by the Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (registration No. PZSHUTCM2303280007), in compliance with relevant animal welfare and ethical standards. Mice were subjected to BDL to induce liver fibrosis. Mice were divided into five groups: sham operation group (Sham), model group (BDL), ethanol extract protection group (BDL+EE, 1.6 g·kg^-1), water extract protection group (BDL+WE, 4.0 g·kg^-1), obeticholic acid protection group (BDL+OCA, 10 mg·kg^-1). The results showed that both of EE and WE could attenuate BDL-induced liver fibrosis as evident by reduced serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activities, total bile acids (TBA) levels, and improved pathological conditions such as cholestasis, collagen deposition, inflammatory cell infiltration, and liver tissue necrosis. Notably, EE showed better efficacy than WE. Further studies showed that EE improved liver fibrosis dose dependently. EE treatment impaired the bile acids homeostasis in serum and liver, and recovered the hepatic mRNA expression of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) as well as the downstream genes including small heterodimer partner (SHP), cholesterol 7-alpha hydroxylase (CYP7A1) and bile salt export pump (BSEP). Further study also proved that the four major triterpenes in EE increased the transcriptional activities of FXR in vitro. This study provides a theoretical basis for the clinical application of Alisma Rhizoma in the prevention and treatment of liver fibrosis.

Current physical and chemical dosimeters are limited in that they cannot directly measure the biological effects of radiation or detect it within the body. Biosensors based on engineered probiotics demonstrate high stability and safety, can be used to detect ionizing radiation in vivo. In this study, an oral engineered microbial sensor for ionizing radiation detection has been developed. The Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) was selected as the chassis strain. Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology, the cryptic plasmids of EcN were successfully removed to yield the chassis strain ΔEcN. To design a radiation-responsive gene circuit, the recA promoter from the SOS response pathway was utilized as the radiation response element, while a fluorescent protein served as the reporter element. This system was designed to be induced by mitomycin C and γ-rays. The performance of engineered bacteria with various gene circuits was characterized and optimized, resulting in the selection of improved candidate strains. Animal experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee of Academy of Military Medical Sciences and the experiments were conducted in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations (approval number: IACUC-DWZX-2022-521). After comparing the in vivo radiation detection capabilities of these strains, the EC-8, which exhibited higher sensitivity, was identified as the final oral microbial sensor. This research applies synthetic biology principles to design and engineer a probiotic capable of detecting ionizing radiation within the body. The findings offer a novel method for in vivo ionizing radiation detection and lay the foundation for the development of live biotherapeutics for the precise diagnosis of radiation damage.

2',4'-Dimethoxychalcone (DMC) is a structural modifier of carvacrol B. In this study, gastric cancer cells MGC-803 and HGC-27 were used as the subjects to investigate the anti-tumor effect and mechanism of DMC on gastric cancer (GC) cells both in vitro and in vivo. DMC inhibited cell viability and cell proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis in GC cells, detected by CCK-8 assay, EdU staining and Annexin V-FITC/PI double-staining flow cytometry. A nude mouse model of GC cell xenograft was constructed by subcutaneous injection with MGC-803 cells, for measuring the effect of DMC on the growth of GC in vivo, and DMC inhibited the growth of subcutaneous transplantation tumor in nude mice. The animal experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine under the ethical number PZSHUTCM2310110002. The effect of DMC on the RNA expression of MGC-803 cells was detected by RNA-seq assay, and it was found that the biological function of DMC was enriched in glycolysis. DMC inhibited the glucose uptake capacity and lactate production and efflux of gastric cancer cells, detected by using 2-NBDG probe with flow cytometry and lactate (LD) test kit. Western blot assay was performed to detect the protein expression of proliferation, apoptosis, and glycolysis-related proteins in gastric cancer cells, and the results demonstrated that DMC up-regulated the protein expression of cleaved caspase-9, cleaved caspase-3, cleaved PARP, down-regulated Ki-67 protein expression, and inhibited the protein expression of c-Myc, LDHA, GLUT3, PDHK1 and MCT1 in gastric cancer cells. The Seahorse energy metabolism analyser was used to measure the rate of glycolysis, and it was found that DMC could down-regulate the basal glycolysis rate and compensatory glycolysis in gastric cancer cells. The c-Myc overexpressing cell line MGC-803 was used in the reversal experiment to further confirm that DMC suppressed gastric cancer growth through inhibiting c-Myc mediated glucose uptake and glycolysis. In conclusion, DMC may inhibit the protein expression of c-Myc and its target glycolysis-related genes, suppressed c-Myc-mediated glucose uptake and glycolysis in gastric cancer cells, thereby inhibited the cell proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis of gastric cancer cells, and thus finally inhibited the growth of gastric cancer in vivo and in vitro.

Whole body irradiation (WBI) injury is defined multi-organ damages caused by whole-body exposure to ionizing radiation. The traditional radioprotective drug, amifostine, has significant adverse effects. Probiotics are reported to have radioprotective function, although their therapeutic efficacy is low due to poor gastrointestinal tolerance and the insufficient retention and colonization in the colon. In this study, chitosan/tannic acid double-layer-coated Lactobacillus reuteri was prepared, which was encapsulated in calcium alginate hydrogel microspheres to get an engineered probiotic-loaded microsphere formulation. The bilayer coating was confirmed by twice inversions of zeta potentials. Moreover, the coating improved bacterial adhesion and aggregation. Optical microscopy revealed the smooth morphology of microspheres, laser confocal imaging showed the uniform distribution of coated bacteria in microspheres, and scanning electron microscopy exhibited pores in the surface. The microspheres exhibited in vitro gastrointestinal resistance with rapidly swelling in the colonic environment to release bacteria. All the animal experiments were approved by Academy of Military Medicine Sciences (Approval No: IACUC-DWZX-2024-P510) and conducted in compliance with relevant guidelines. The 6.5 Gy whole-body irradiated mouse model was established. Starting from 2 days prior to irradiation, probiotic-loaded microspheres were administered via oral gavage consecutively for 6 days. Compared with the model group, the bacteria-loaded microspheres demonstrated protective effects on the hematopoietic system by promoting the recovery of red blood cells and platelets, maintaining the morphology of splenic red pulp and white pulp, and preserving bone marrow nucleated cells along with their proliferative capacity. Engineered probiotics have expanded the spectrum of radioprotective drugs, offering novel insights for the development of live biotherapeutic products aimed at preventing and treating radiation-induced injury.

Radiation enteritis (RE) is the most common complication during radiotherapy, although safe and effective drugs for the treatment of RE are deficient. Probiotics have been demonstrated to own antiradiation function. Synbiotics are composed of probiotics and prebiotics, which enhance the ability of probiotics. Here, inulin gel (IG) that own the ability to resist gastric acid and retain in the colon were used to load three types of probiotics, including Bacillus cereus (BC), Bacillus licheniformis (BL), and Lactobacillus reuteri (LR), respectively. The RE pharmacodynamic studies of them were conducted. The probiotics were embedded in the IG by scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. IG promoted the growth of probiotics compared to probiotics alone. Animal experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and the experiments were conducted in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations (No. IACUC-DWZX-2024-P510). Mice experienced the whole abdominal irradiation of 13 Gy γ rays to form RE models. Compared to correspondingly probiotics alone, all probiotic-loaded IG synbiotics had the better prevention and treatment efficiencies in repairing the intestinal barriers, improving the structure of crypts, oxidative stress, inflammation, and imbalanced gut microbiota and promoting the recovery of intestinal villus, where the Bacillus cereus-loaded IG was the best. This study provides a novel therapeutic for the prevention and treatment of RE.

High-altitude sleep disturbance is a common acute high-altitude disease that can trigger physiological discomfort such as acute high-altitude reactions, with a lack of safe and effective preventive medications in clinical practice. Based on the gut-brain axis theory, this study designed and prepared a synbiotics combining Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG)-Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP). First, the LGG-LBP synbiotics was prepared and evaluated. The mice were randomly divided into healthy, model, positive control (acetazolamide), LBP, LGG and LGG-LBP synbiotics group. After 7 days of administration, the mouse model of high-altitude sleep disturbance was established, the treating effects were evaluated through sleep duration, behavioral, hemogram test, and the content of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in blood. 16S rRNA sequencing was used to analyze the changes of gut microbiota, and the pathological changes of small intestine were observed. The LGG-LBP synbiotics prolonged sleep duration, improved exploratory ability and short-term memory, promoted blood cell recovery. Moreover, LGG-LBP synbiotics enhanced the abundance of probiotics in the gut, and reduced intestinal inflammation. LGG-LBP synbiotics may be a potential prophylactic drug for high-altitude sleep disturbance. The animal operation was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Academy of Military Science (Approval number: IACUC-DWZX-2022-511). All experiments were conducted in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

The 95% ethanol extract of Curcuma longa was isolated and purified by silica gel column chromatography, polyamide column chromatography, preparative thin layer chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC. Then, the structures of the obtained compounds were identified by HR-MS, IR, and NMR. Absolute configuration of the new compound was determined by calculating ECD. Finally, two bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoids were obtained from C. longa and identified as (7S)-1,3,5,10-bisabolatetraen-3-nitro-9-one (1) and turmeronol A (2). Compound 1 was a novel nitro-substituted bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoid.

In the early stage of the project, it was found that natural pentacyclic triterpenes liquidambaric acid regulates the NEDD8 modification of Cullin2. This study aims to find more triterpenoid natural active molecules targeting Cullin family members and reveal its mechanism of action. Western blot was used to detect natural products that can significantly change the total protein NEDD8 modification and specific Cullin protein NEDD8 modification in cells; microscale thermophoresis (MST) was used to detect the direct binding of candidate small molecule oleanonic acid to TRAF family proteins, and the binding at the level of living cells was verified by cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA). Proximity ligation assay (PLA) was used to investigate the regulatory effect of oleanonic acid on the protein interaction between TNF receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1) and Cullin1 NEDD8 modified complex. Three pentacyclic triterpenoids were found to significantly inhibit NEDD8 modification in cells, among which oleanonic acid had the strongest effect on blocking NEDD8 modification. Different from the previous identification that liquidambaric acid regulates Cullin2/5, oleanonic acid can also specifically induce NEDD8-modified Cullin1 to transform into its unmodified form. And binding experiments showed that oleanonic acid could directly bind to TRAF1 at the level of cell lysate and living cells. Further mechanism studies found that oleanonic acid significantly changed the protein interaction between TRAF1 and Cullin1 NEDD8 modified complex. The above results indicate that oleanonic acid targets TRAF1 and regulates its interaction with NEDD8 modification complex to inhibit NEDD8 modification of Cullin.

The study aims to provide an important basis for IMH020 production process and quality control and develop an HPLC method for the determination of related substances in IMH020. The analysis was performed on a Waters Symmetry C₁₈ column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm). The mobile phase A was acetonitrile and the mobile phase B was water-0.2% glacial acetic acid solution with isocratic elution. The flow rate was 1.0 mL·min^-1 and the column temperature was maintained at 30 ℃. The wavelength was 270 and 300 nm. The injection volume was 10 μL. The results show that all the related substances gained a completely chromatographic separation. Good linear relationships of all the related substances (I-1, I-2, I-3a, I-3b, I-4 and I-5) were obtained (r ≥ 0.998 9) and recoveries were in the range of 93.1%-97.8% (RSD ≤ 2%, n = 9). Only I-3a and I-3b were detected below the limit for specified impurities in the three batches of samples, and the largest unspecified single impurity and the total impurities were within the limit. The HPLC method established in this paper is simple, sensitive and accurate, and can be used for the determination of related substances of IMH020.

Plasma exosomes (Pla-Exos) were extracted from rats by ultracentrifugation. The ultracentrifugation method extracted rat Pla-Exos at a speed of 150 000 ×g for 2.5 h. Various purification methods including ultracentrifugation, magnetic bead capture method, and ultrafiltration would be employed to purify Pla-Exos. The Pue-Exos were prepared via sonication-assisted and co-incubation methods. The influence factors and levels of the preparation of plasma exosomes carrying puerarin (Pue-Exos) were investigated by RSM plus CCD method with encapsulation rate as an index. Then the characterization, the stability, and in vitro release of Pue-Exos were determined. The particle sizes of exosomes purified by ultracentrifugation, ultrafiltration, or magnetic bead capture method were all within the range of 30-150 nm. The Western blot results showed that purified Pla-Exos and Pue-Exos contained marker proteins TSG101, CD63, and CD81. The TEM showed that purified Pla-Exos and Pue-Exos exhibited well-defined double-layered membrane vesicle structures. The optimal prescription conditions for preparing Pue-Exos were finally determined as follows: 1 h ultrasound time, 39 W ultrasound power, mass ratio of 10∶1. The prepared Pue-Exos exhibit good stability and sustained release, significantly enhancing the in vitro transpermeability of puerarin across the blood-brain barrier (P < 0.01). This study was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Review Committee of Hebei North University, and ethics approval number was HBNV202307012103.