Publications by authors named "Jia-Zhong Cai"
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on translating and validating a specific health scale, the Short Health Scale (SHS), designed to assess the quality of life (QoL) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in mainland China.
- The researchers used established methods like translation, back-translation, and various reliability and validity tests, involving 112 IBD patients to ensure the scale was effective.
- Results showed that the SHS had strong reliability (Cronbach's alpha of 0.90) and was able to differentiate QoL based on symptom severity, confirming its suitability for IBD patients in the Chinese context.*
Background: Sinomenine (SIN) is an anti-inflammatory drug that has been used for decades in China to treat arthritis. In a previous study, SIN acted on α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) to inhibit inflammatory responses in macrophages, which indicates a new anti-inflammatory mechanism of SIN. However, the level of α7nAChR was increased in the inflammatory responses and was downregulated by SIN in vitro, so the underlying mechanisms of SIN acting on α7nAChR remain unclear.
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- The expression of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) in the intestinal epithelium is crucial for maintaining gut health, and the regulation of VDR remains poorly understood, especially its connection with the RNA-binding protein HuR.* -
- HuR promotes VDR translation by binding to its mRNA and enhancing its stability; experiments show that reducing HuR leads to decreased VDR levels without affecting mRNA content.* -
- In patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, both HuR and VDR levels are reduced, suggesting that HuR's role in enhancing VDR is vital for the healing process of intestinal epithelial cells after injury.*
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates how the ELAV-like RNA-binding protein 1 (HuR) affects the function of Paneth cells, which are important for gut health due to their role in secreting antimicrobial proteins like lysozyme.
- - Researchers used mouse models with specific HuR disruptions and compared them to controls, finding that a lack of HuR led to fewer Paneth cells and reduced lysozyme production, but no impacts on other cell types.
- - Analysis showed that low levels of HuR are also present in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, and disruptions in HuR correlated with decreased autophagy and altered intestinal cell functions.
The majority of Musashi 1 (Msi1)‑positive cells derived from mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) are prone to differentiate into neural epithelial‑like cells, and only a small proportion of Msi1‑positive cells differentiate into intestinal epithelial‑like cells. Whether inhibiting the phosphatidylinositol 3‑kinase (PI3K) signaling of mESCs can promote the differentiation of Msi1‑positive cells into intestinal epithelial‑like cells remains to be fully elucidated. In the present study, to inhibit PI3K signaling, mESCs were treated with LY294002.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCajanolactone A (CLA) is a stilbenoid discovered by us from (L.) Millsp. In our study, CLA was found to promote osteoblast differentiation in human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs), as judged by increased cellular alkaline phosphatase activity and extracellular calcium deposits, and elevated protein expression of Runx2, collagen-1, bone morphogenetic protein-2, and osteopontin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study investigates the effects of polysaccharide extracts from Astragalus membranaceus and Atractylodes macrocephala on the migration of IEC-6 cells, which are a model for gut health.
- The results indicate that these extracts significantly enhanced cell migration and increased levels of cellular polyamines and calcium, suggesting a potential therapeutic role for these herbs in gastrointestinal diseases.
- Moreover, the extracts were found to counteract the inhibitory effects of specific compounds on cell migration, indicating their ability to restore normal migratory functions in polyamine-deficient conditions.
Context: The leaves of Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. (Fabaceae) have diverse bioactivities, but little safety data are reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate the effect of Sijunzi decoction polysaccharide( SJZDP) on intestinal epithelial cells( IEC-6)cell migration and polyamine signaling pathway potassium channel during intestinal epithelial cell migration, and to explore the mechanism of SJZDP on promoting gastrointestinal mucosal restitution after wounding.
Methods: Cell migration model was established by scratch damage, and then the effect of SJZDP normal cultured or with difluoromethylornithine( DFMO) and 4-aminopyridine( 4-AP) on IEC-6 cell migration was observed and calculated on this wounding model. The effect of SJZDP on expression of IEC-6 cell kv1.
Objective: To study the chemical constituents from Periploca forrestii.
Methods: The constituents were separated by column chromatography and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.
Results: Seven compounds were isolated from Periploca forrestii and identified as wogonin( 1),negletein( 2),vanilline( 3),isovanilline( 4),periplocoside L( 5),β-sitosterol( 6) and β-daucosterol( 7).
A new natural halogen-containing stilbene derivative was isolated from the leaves of Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. and identified as 3-O-(3-chloro-2-hydroxyl-propanyl)-longistylin A by comprehensive spectroscopic and chemical analysis, and named cajanstilbene H (1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz (AMK) has been used widely as a digestive and tonic in traditional Chinese medicine. AMK has shown noteworthy promoting effect on intestinal epithelial cell migration, which might represent a promising candidate for the treatment of intestinal mucosa injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of AMK on intestinal mucosal restitution and the underlying mechanisms via IEC-6 cell migration model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate the chemical constituents in the ethyl acerate extract of Lysimachia fortunei.
Method: The compounds were isolated by silica gel chromatography, and their structures were elucidated by NMR data and references.
Result: Nine natural constituents were isolated, and their structures were identified as 9, 19-cyclolanost-24-en-3-one (1), 24-ethyl-5alpha-cholesta-7, 22(E)-dien-3-one (2), 1-pentatriacontanol (3), beta-stigmasterol (4), 24-ethyl-5alpha-cholesta-7, 22(E)-dien-3beta-ol (5), palmitic acid (6), isorhamnetin (7), kaempferol (8) and quercetin (9) respectively.