Publications by authors named "Ana Liu"

Unlabelled: Gut dysbiosis is closely related to dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in the intestinal epithelial cells, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD). We investigated the relationship between fecal gut microbiome (GM) and intestinal tissue miRNAs in different stages of pediatric CD. Metagenomic analysis and miRNA sequencing were conducted to examine the GM and intestinal miRNA profiles of CD patients before and after clinical induction therapy and the controls.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Dysregulation of bile acids (BAs), as important signalling molecules in regulating lipid and glucose metabolism, contributes to the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, static BA profiles during fasting may obscure certain pathogenetic aspects. In this study, we investigate the dynamic alterations of BAs in response to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) among children with NAFLD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Excessive fructose intake is associated with the rising prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The gut microbiome (GM) and bile acids (BAs) are involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, but the impact of fructose on their cross-talk is unclear. In this study, adult male C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal diet with tap water (ND) or with 4% fructose in the drinking water (Fru), 60% high-fat diet with tap water (HF) or with 4% fructose solution (HFF) for 12 weeks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Scope: Bile acids (BAs) are closely associated with obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). How BAs change within the enterohepatic circulation during the onset and progression of NAFLD as biomarkers deserves to be explored.

Methods And Results: Four-week-old young mice were fed with high-fat diet plus 4% v/w fructose drinking water (HFF) or normal diet with tap water (ND) for 4 and 12 weeks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Dysregulated bile acid (BA) metabolism has been linked to steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Aim: To determine whether circulating BA levels accurately stage liver fibrosis in NAFLD.

Methods: We recruited 550 Chinese adults with biopsy-proven NAFLD and varying levels of fibrosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Gut dysbiosis and associated bile acid (BA) metabolism play an important role in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD). We investigated the impacts of the exclusive enteral nutrition treatment (EEN) on the gut microbiome (GM) and BAs metabolism for patients with CD.

Methods: Targeted metabolomics analysis and metagenomics analysis were performed in feces to investigate the BA and GM changes of patients before and after 2-months EEN therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Context: Although gonadotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test (GnRHST) is the gold standard in diagnosing central precocious puberty (CPP), it is invasive, expensive, and time-consuming, requiring multiple blood samples to measure gonadotropin levels.

Objective: We evaluated whether urinary hormones could be potential biomarkers for prepuberty or postpuberty, aiming to simplify the current diagnosis and prognosis procedure.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of a total of 355 girls with CPP in National Clinical Research Center for Child Health in China, including 258 girls with positive and 97 girls with negative results from GnRHST.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

With the diversity of modern dietary lifestyles, digestive system disorders (DSD) have become a frequently occurring disease in recent years. Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) is a homogeneous polysaccharide extracted from , which might ameliorate the digestive and absorptive functions. However, the treatment mechanisms remain unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Our previous studies have shown that has an important role in lowering blood pressure, but its intervention mechanism has not been clarified completely in the metabolic level. Therefore, in this study, a combination method of HPLC-TOF/MS-based metabolomics and multivariate statistical analyses was employed to explore the mechanism and evaluate the antihypertensive effect of . Serum samples were analyzed and identified by HPLC-TOF/MS, while the acquired data was further processed by partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) to discover the perturbed metabolites.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF