Therapeutic peptides in the treatment of digestive inflammation: Current advances and future prospects.

Digestive inflammation is a widespread global issue that significantly impacts quality of life. Recent advances have highlighted the unique potential of therapeutic peptides for treating this condition, owing to their specific bioactivity and high specificity. By specifically targeting key proteins involved in the pathological process and modulating biomolecular functions, therapeutic peptides offer a novel and promising approach to managing digestive inflammation.

Modified Zhenwu Decoction suppresses chronic colitis via targeting macrophage CCR2/Fyn/p38 MAPK signaling axis.

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is associated with intestinal macrophage infiltration due to disruption of the mucosal barrier and bacterial invasion. Therefore, it is crucial to identify therapeutic agents capable of attenuating the macrophage-induced inflammatory response to preserve mucosal homeostasis and immune tolerance. The modified Zhenwu decoction (CDD-2103) is a novel herbal formulation developed based on the principles of Traditional Chinese medicine.

Tolerogenic dendritic cell-mediated regulatory T cell differentiation by Chinese herbal formulation attenuates colitis progression.

Introduction: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by loss of immune tolerance to luminal antigens and progressive intestinal tissue injury. Thus, the re-establishment of immune tolerance is crucial for suppressing aberrant immune responses and UC progression.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the action of CDD-2103 and its bioactive compounds in mediating immune regulation in mouse models of colitis.

Loss of lncRNA LINC01056 leads to sorafenib resistance in HCC.

Background And Aims: Sorafenib is a major nonsurgical option for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, its clinical efficacy is largely undermined by the acquisition of resistance. The aim of this study was to identify the key lncRNA involved in the regulation of the sorafenib response in HCC.

Materials And Methods: A clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) single-guide RNA (sgRNA) synergistic activation mediator (SAM)-pooled lncRNA library was applied to screen for the key lncRNA regulated by sorafenib treatment.

PARD3 drives tumorigenesis through activating Sonic Hedgehog signalling in tumour-initiating cells in liver cancer.

Background: Par-3 Family Cell Polarity Regulator (PARD3) is a cellular protein essential for asymmetric cell division and polarized growth. This study aimed to study the role of PARD3 in hepatic tumorigenesis.

Methods: The essential role of PARD3 in mediating hepatic tumorigenesis was assessed in diet-induced spontaneous liver tumour and syngeneic tumour models.

Genipin-activating PPARγ impedes CCR2-mediated macrophage infiltration into postoperative liver to suppress recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma.

A high postoperative tumour recurrence rate has significantly rendered a poorer prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. The aim of this study is to identify a natural compound genipin as a potential and effective candidate to suppress the postoperative recurrence of HCC. Clinical analysis revealed that infiltration of macrophage into the adjacent tissue but not HCC predicted patients' poor prognosis on recurrence-free survival.

Pancreatic melatonin enhances anti-tumor immunity in pancreatic adenocarcinoma through regulating tumor-associated neutrophils infiltration and NETosis.

Tumor microenvironment contributes to poor prognosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) patients. Proper regulation could improve survival. Melatonin is an endogenous hormone that delivers multiple bioactivities.

The involvement of gut microbiota in the anti-tumor effect of carnosic acid via IL-17 suppression in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignant tumor that threatens human health worldwide. Disturbance of the gut microbiota caused by various external factors is one of the leading causes. Carnosic acid (CA) is a phenolic diterpene compound, mainly isolated from rosemary plants, with anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties.

Calf Thymus Polypeptide Restrains the Growth of Colorectal Tumor Regulating the Intestinal Microbiota-Mediated Immune Function.

Calf thymus polypeptide (CTP), with a molecular mass of <10 kDa, is prepared from the thymus of less than 30-day-old newborn cattle. In the present study, the inhibitory function of CTP in colorectal cancer (CRC) was investigated in B6/JGpt- /Gpt ( ) mice. CTP hampered tumor development and enhanced the ratio of CD3eNK1.

CRISPR-Cas9 library screening approach for anti-cancer drug discovery: overview and perspectives.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a Nobel Prize-winning robust gene-editing tool developed in the last decade. This technique enables a stable genetic engineering method with high precision on the genomes of all organisms. The latest advances in the technology include a genome library screening approach, which can detect survival-essential and drug resistance genes via gain or loss of function.

Immunomodulatory potential of natural products from herbal medicines as immune checkpoints inhibitors: Helping to fight against cancer via multiple targets.

Immunotherapy sheds new light to cancer treatment and is satisfied by cancer patients. However, immunotoxicity, single-source antibodies, and single-targeting stratege are potential challenges to the success of cancer immunotherapy. A huge number of promising lead compounds for cancer treatment are of natural origin from herbal medicines.

Epigenetic regulation of ferroptosis via ETS1/miR-23a-3p/ACSL4 axis mediates sorafenib resistance in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Drug resistance to sorafenib greatly limited the benefits of treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) participate in the development of drug resistance. The key miRNA regulators related to the clinical outcome of sorafenib treatment and their molecular mechanisms remain to be identified.

Berberine improves insulin-induced diabetic retinopathy through exclusively suppressing Akt/mTOR-mediated HIF-1α/VEGF activation in retina endothelial cells.

Insulin therapy is the major treatment of glycaemic control in type I diabetes mellitus (DM) and advanced type II DM patients who fail to respond to oral hypoglycemic agents. Nonetheless, insulin therapy is deemed unsuccessful in controlling the incidence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and is likely a risk factor. Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid, has caught great attention towards its anti-diabetic mechanisms.

Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis: Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture as Adjuvant Therapy for Side Effects Management in Drug Therapy-Receiving Breast Cancer Patients.

Objective: To investigate the potential benefits and safety of acupuncture on managing side effects induced by drug therapies in patients with breast cancer using a PRISMA standard systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Published randomised controlled trials from nine databases in English and Chinese language were searched. Trials with a real acupuncture treatment group and a control group with sham acupuncture, no treatment, or waitlist control were included.

Efficacy and Safety of Chinese Herbal Medicine on Treatment of Breast Cancer: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Breast cancer is currently the most common cancer in women, and it accounts for 11.6% of all cancer diagnoses in 2018. Breast cancer patients frequently resort to alternative medicine in addition to conventional Western therapy.

Role of Autophagy in the Maintenance of Stemness in Adult Stem Cells: A Disease-Relevant Mechanism of Action.

Autophagy is an intracellular scavenging mechanism induced to eliminate damaged, denatured, or senescent macromolecular substances and organelles in the body. The regulation of autophagy plays essential roles in the processes of cellular homeostasis and senescence. Dysregulated autophagy is a common feature of several human diseases, including cancers and neurodegenerative disorders.

Network Pharmacology-Based Analysis and Experimental Exploration of Antidiabetic Mechanisms of Gegen Qinlian Decoction.

Type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and therapy options have been studied increasingly due to their rising incidence and prevalence. The trend of applying traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat T2DM is increasing as a crucial medical care for metabolic dysfunctions. Gegen Qinlian decoction (GQL), a well-known classical TCM formula used in China, has been clinically applied to treat various types of chronic metabolic diseases.

Edible and Herbal Plants for the Prevention and Management of COVID-19.

The outbreak of the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has now become a global pandemic spreading throughout the world. Unfortunately, due to the high infectiousness of the novel -coronavirus, it is very likely to become an ordinary epidemic. The development of dietary supplements and functional foods might provide a strategy for the prevention and management of COVID-19.

Efficacy of Herbal Medicines Intervention for Colorectal Cancer Patients With Chemotherapy-Induced Gastrointestinal Toxicity - a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal (CIGI) toxicity affects the quality of life of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and the clinical application of treatment drugs. This review aims to evaluate the efficacy of traditional herbal medicines (HMs) in alleviating symptoms of CIGI toxicity (including nausea and vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, constipation, oral mucositis, abdominal pain, and abdominal distension), and to explore further individual herb or herbal combinations in alleviating the CIGI toxicity. Nine electronic databases were screened from 2010 to 2020.

Gut-liver axis modulation of Panax notoginseng saponins in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background And Aims: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an obesity-related comorbidity, and it is characterized as a spectrum of liver abnormalities, including inflammation, steatosis, and fibrosis. The gut-liver axis is implicated in the pathogenesis and development of NAFLD. A promising drug agent targeting the gut-liver axis is expected to reverse NAFLD.