Publications by authors named "Hongzhi Du"

FOLFOX (5-Fluorouracil, Calcium Folinate combined with Oxaliplatin) is a preferred chemotherapy regimen for colon cancer, but its limited efficacy remains a major challenge, significantly impairs patient outcomes. There is an urgent need to identify strategies to improve its therapeutic effectiveness. Our previous studies have suggested that gut microbiota-derived bile acids may be involved in the anticancer effect of FOLFOX in vitro, however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear.

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The high morbidity and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major challenge in clinical practice. Although a series of alternative research models of CRC have been developed, appropriate orthotopic animal models that reproduce the specific clinical response as well as pathophysiological immune features of CRC are still lacking. In the current study, we constructed a CRC orthotopic xenograft model by implanting the tumor tubes at the colorectum of mice and monitored the model development using bioluminescence imaging.

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Article Synopsis
  • Liver cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality globally, with traditional Chinese medicine, particularly Huaier polysaccharides (HP), being used as a potential treatment strategy.
  • HP demonstrated limited effectiveness against human and mouse HCC cells in vitro, but showed stronger anti-HCC effects in animal models, largely mediated by macrophage activity.
  • The study found that HP alters gut microbiota and enhances pro-inflammatory responses while affecting M2 macrophage polarization, suggesting the importance of gut microbiota in HP's efficacy against liver cancer.
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Medicinal plants serve as vital resources for preventing and treating diseases, with their flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, or entire plants being utilized in the pharmaceutical industry or as direct therapeutic agents. During our investigation of microfungi associated with medicinal plants in Guizhou and Sichuan Provinces, China, several asexual and sexual fungal morphs were collected. Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis based on combined ITS, LSU, SSU and datasets revealed that these taxa are related to the family Dictyosporiaceae.

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Background: Artemisia argyi is a well-known medicinal plant. A. argyi has been widely used in clinical for about 3000 years, owing to its extensive pharmacological activity.

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During a survey of saprobic fungal niches in Southwestern China, eighteen ascomycetous collections of (Nigrogranaceae, Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes) were found on dead branches of medicinal plants. These taxa were characterized and identified based on morphological and culture characteristics, and phylogenetic analyses of a combined the internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA (ITS), nuclear large subunit rDNA (28S, LSU), RNA polymerase second-largest subunit (rpb2), nuclear small subunit rDNA (18S, SSU), and translation elongation factor 1-alpha () sequence dataset also confirmed their placement. As a result, four novel species, namely , , and were described.

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  • The cause of ulcerative colitis (UC), an inflammatory disease mainly targeting teens, is still not fully understood, but it seems to arise from a mix of genetic, environmental, immune, and gut microbiome factors.
  • Damaged mucosal barriers and abnormal immune responses play key roles in UC's development, with cellular mechanisms like oxidative stress influencing this damage.
  • cAMP levels change during inflammation and are linked to inflammation control and mucosal barrier integrity, leading to potential new treatments for UC that are currently being developed and tested.
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Mimicking the dissipative assemblies found in living systems fueled by bioenergy, we present a novel chemical fuel-driven transient 2D SOF, formed the redox reaction-driven transient self-assembly of tetraphenylene-based structural units and cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]). The system was initiated by adding sodium dithionite (SDT) as the fuel, leading to the formation of 2D SOFs through 2 : 1 host-guest complexation between the viologen cation radical and CB[8]. These 2D SOFs then spontaneously disassemble over time as the radicals are oxidized by air.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Recent research highlights how gut bacteria and their byproducts interact with the immune system, impacting the pharmacological activity of chemotherapy drugs.
  • * The review discusses current understanding of the relationship between gut microbiota, tumor growth, and immune response, and explores new strategies to enhance chemotherapy effectiveness using gut microbiota interventions.
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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Dermatophytes are notorious pathogens capable of infecting various mammals skin, posing serious threats to human health and overall life quality worldwide. Artemisia argyi has been recorded and applied for over a thousand years to treat skin itching. Although it has the potential to be developed as a plant-based antifungal agent, it's antifungal activity and action mechanism of active ingredients are still unclear.

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Eleven previously undescribed sesquiterpenoids (8-18), one undescribed jasmonic acid derivative (35) and 28 known compounds were isolated from the leaves of Artemisia stolonifera. Undescribed compounds with their absolute configurations were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis, single-crystal X-ray diffraction and ECD calculation. Compound 8 was identified as a rare sesquiterpenoid featuring a rearranged 5/8 bicyclic ring system, whereas compound 17 was found to be an unprecedented monocyclic sesquiterpenoid with methyl rearrangement.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on developing an electrochemical sensor using Pt@g-CN nanoparticles and N-doped carbon nanotubes to detect ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), and uric acid (UA), which are important for managing various health issues.
  • - The sensor demonstrated a wide linear response range and low detection limits, with recoveries in serum samples meeting high accuracy (100.4%-106.7%).
  • - This innovative sensor shows potential for reliable simultaneous detection of these compounds, offering a valuable tool for disease diagnosis and health monitoring in clinical environments.
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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: As a traditional Chinese medicine, Artemisia argyi has been used medicinally and eaten for more than 2000 years in China. It is widely reported in treating inflammatory diseases such as eczema, dermatitis, arthritis, allergic asthma and colitis. Although several studies claim that its volatile oil and organic reagent extracts have certain anti-inflammatory effects, the water-soluble fractions and molecular mechanisms have not been studied.

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Freshwater fungi are highly diverse in China and frequently reported from submerged wood, freshwater insects, herbaceous substrates, sediments, leaves, foams, and living plants. In this study, we investigated two freshwater species that were collected from Yunnan and Guizhou provinces in China. Detailed morphological analysis complemented by multi-gene phylogenetic analyses based on LSU, SSU, ITS, and sequences data revealed them to be two new saprobic species, namely and in their asexual morphs.

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Artemisia argyi (A. argyi), a plant with a longstanding history as a raw material for traditional medicine and functional diets in Asia, has been used traditionally to bathe and soak feet for its disinfectant and itch-relieving properties. Despite its widespread use, scientific evidence validating the antifungal efficacy of A.

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This study is based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS), and network pharmacology methods to analyze and predict potential quality markers(Q-markers) of Artemisiae Argyi Folium. First, UPLC and GC-MS techniques were used to analyze the content of 12 non-volatile components and 8 volatile components in the leaves of 33 Artemisia argyi germplasm resources as candidate Q-markers. Subsequently, network pharmacology was employed to construct a "component-target-pathway-efficacy" network to screen out core Q-markers, and the biological activity of the markers was validated using molecular docking.

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Species in the are common plant pathogens, endophytes, and saprobes found on a variety of mainly woody hosts. is a high-profile fungal family whose genera have been subjected to continuous revisions in recent years. Surveys conducted during 2019 and 2020 on several decaying woody hosts (from dead arial twigs, branches, stems, bark, and seed pods) in China and Thailand revealed a high diversity of fungi.

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Article Synopsis
  • Flavonoids are natural substances that can help protect our bodies with benefits like fighting off bad chemicals, reducing inflammation, and even stopping tumors.
  • Scientists are testing supplements with flavonoids to see if they can help prevent or treat different diseases, but they face challenges because our bodies don't always absorb them well.
  • The review talks about how flavonoids are categorized and where they come from, shares what research has been done on flavonoid supplements, and discusses new ways to help our bodies use flavonoids better so they can be more effective in medicine.
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  • * Cultivated plants were found to be taller and healthier, but wild plants produced higher yields of moxa and better combustion quality.
  • * The study suggests that middle and high altitudes are best for cultivating A. stolonifera due to optimal combustion performance and component content.
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This study aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory material basis and molecular mechanism of Artemisia stolonifera based on the analysis of the chemical components in different extracted fractions of A. stolonifera and their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in combination with network pharmacology and molecular docking. Thirty-two chemical components were identified from A.

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Reliable HO sensors for in situ cellular monitoring under drug stimulation can be developed as a powerful and versatile tool for drug evaluation. Herein, a novel electrochemical biosensor capable of detecting and quantifying HO was fabricated by graphene and shape-controlled gold nanostructures. With the help of polyelectrolytes, gold exhibited hierarchical flower-like nanostructures.

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Apigenin (APG) is a well-known dietary flavonoid with multiple bioactivities, but its poor aqueous solubility may result in low oral bioavailability and thus compromised therapeutic effects. In the present study, APG was complexed with oxymatrine (OMT), a natural quinolizidine alkaloid, for enhanced anti-inflammatory activity, and the related mechanisms in the interaction of APG with OMT were investigated. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy characterizations demonstrated the occurrence of an APG-OMT complex formed at a molar ratio of 1:2.

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Background: Temozolomide (TMZ) is the preferred chemotherapy strategy for glioma therapy. As a second-generation alkylating agent, TMZ provides superior oral bio-availability. However, limited response rate (less than 50%) and high incidence of drug resistance seriously restricts TMZ's application, there still lack of strategies to increase the chemotherapy sensitivity.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates how apigenin (APG) and oxymatrine (OMT) affect the growth of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines A549 and NCI-H1975, using various assays to measure cell viability and proliferation.
  • Results show that both APG and the combination of APG with OMT significantly reduce cell viability and colony formation ability in these cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner.
  • The findings suggest that APG combined with OMT inhibits NSCLC potentially by down-regulating the expression of key proteins in the EGFR signaling pathway, providing a foundational understanding for future cancer treatments.
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