Licochalcone A (Lico A) is a characteristic chalcone isolated from licorice root which is widely recognized in traditional Chinese medicine for the ability of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-parasitic and anti-cancer. The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of Lico A on dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in a mouse model which was induced by administration of 3% DSS in drinking water. Mice were then treated with Lico A (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg, p.o.) or 0.9% saline (20 ml/kg, p.o.) for 17 days. The results showed that treatment with Lico A significantly reduced the colon length, histological damage scores, and colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in a dose-dependent manner as compared to the UC control group. Besides, Lico A significantly decreased the oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines, downregulated nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway and upregulated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway. Collectively, Lico A is effective in alleviating DSS-induced colitis in mice and the mechanism is associated with its inhibition of NF-κB-regulated pro-inflammatory signaling and activation of Nrf2-regulated cytoprotective protein expression.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2018.03.130 | DOI Listing |
Glycoconj J
January 2025
School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
Chondroitin sulphate (CS) is a sulphated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) polysaccharide found on proteoglycans (CSPGs) in extracellular and pericellular matrices. Chondroitinase ABC (CSase ABC) derived from Proteus vulgaris is an enzyme that has gained attention for the capacity to cleave chondroitin sulphate (CS) glycosaminoglycans (GAG) from various proteoglycans such as Aggrecan, Neurocan, Decorin etc. The substrate specificity of CSase ABC is well-known for targeting various structural motifs of CS chains and has gained popularity in the field of neuro-regeneration by selective degradation of CS GAG chains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnim Microbiome
January 2025
Institute of Animal Nutrition, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, P.R. China.
Background: A. muciniphila (AKK) has attracted extensive research interest as a potential next-generation probiotics, but its role in intestinal pathology is remains unclear. Herein, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Pharmacol Transl Sci
January 2025
Division of Applied Regulatory Science, Office of Clinical Pharmacology, Office of Translational Sciences, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Silver Spring, Maryland 20993, United States.
Current in vitro cell-based methods, relying on single cell types, have structural and functional limitations in determining lung drug permeability, which is a contributing factor affecting both local and systemic drug levels. To address this issue, we investigated a 3D human lung airway model generated using a cell culture insert, wherein primary human lung epithelial and endothelial cells were cocultured at an air-liquid interface (ALI). To ensure that the cell culture mimics the physiological and functional characteristics of airway tissue, the model was characterized by evaluating several parameters such as cellular confluency, ciliation, tight junctions, mucus-layer formation, transepithelial electrical resistance, and barrier function through assaying fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran permeability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Extracell Vesicles
January 2025
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Parasitic helminths secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) into their host tissues to modulate immune responses, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We demonstrate that Ascaris EVs are efficiently internalised by monocytes in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and increase the percentage of classical monocytes. Furthermore, EV treatment of monocytes induced a novel anti-inflammatory phenotype characterised by CD14, CD16, CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
Collaborative Innovation Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, & Institute of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by intestinal mucosal damage that exacerbates inflammation and promotes disease recurrence. Although hydrogel-based therapies have shown potential for mucosal repair, challenges remain due to inadequate targeting and low hydrogel density, leading to ongoing infiltration of harmful substances and delayed mucosal healing. In this study, an inflammation-targeting-triggered healing hydrogel (ITTH hydrogel) is developed, composed of polyvinyl alcohol-alginate microgels (PALMs) and a cyclodextrin polymer crosslinker (CPC).
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