Serum derived from ulcerative colitis mouse changes the metabolism of the fluorescent substrate by P450 depending on the degree of disease progression

The San-Qi-Xue-Shang-Ning formula protects against ulcerative colitis by restoring the homeostasis of gut immunity and microbiota

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality due to repetitive remissions and relapses, and many severe complications, including colitis-associated cancer (CAC). The San-Qi-Xue-Shang-Ning (SQ) formula has been utilized in clinical practice to treat gut diseases, but its pharmacological evidence is limited and awaits elucidation.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Here, we elucidated the molecular mechanisms of the SQ formula.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Its therapeutic value in combating UC and CAC was predicted from network pharmacology and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Experimental colitis models were established by feeding dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to C57BL/6N mice for 7 days, and they were subjected to the SQ formula for 14 days. High-throughput technologies and biochemical investigations were executed to corroborate the anti-colitis effect.

RESULTS

Network pharmacology and WGCNA demonstrated that the targets of the SQ formula were associated with interleukin-17 (IL-17), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), IL-1b and peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathways, and correlated with the survival in patients with colorectal cancer. In mice with colitis, the SQ treatment hindered colitis progression in a dose-dependent manner, as evidenced by the rescued colon length and weight loss, improved colonic epithelial integrity, and abolished crypt loss. In addition to the suppressed serum IL-17, TNFα, and IL-1b levels, the SQ-treated colitis mice exhibited decreased colonic protein abundance of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1 α), PPARα, and Caspase3 (Casp3) with an increased PPARγ expression. Concurrently, the high dose of SQ promoted the alternative activation of peritoneal macrophages by increasing Arg1 and inhibiting iNOS2, thereby facilitating the migration of NCM460 cells and controlling TNF-induced reactive oxygen species production and apoptosis in intestinal organoids. In colitis-accompanied dysbiosis, the SQ formula reversed the decreased microbiota diversity indexes and restored the microbiome profile in the murine colitis models.

CONCLUSION

The SQ formula is a potent anti-colitis drug that facilitates inflammation resolution and restores gut microbiota homeostasis.

Diagnosis of Parkinson's disease by investigating the inhibitory effect of serum components on P450 inhibition assay

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, and diagnostic methods and biomarkers for patients without subjective motor symptoms have not yet been established. Previously, we developed a cytochrome P450 inhibition assay that detects alterations in metabolite levels associated with P450s caused by inflammation and exposure to endogenous or exogenous substances. However, it is unknown whether the P450 inhibition assay can be applied in PD diagnosis. Here, we determined whether the P450 inhibition assay can discriminate sera between patients with PD and healthy individuals. The results of the assay revealed that the P450 inhibition assay can discriminate PD with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value of 0.814-0.914 in rats and an AUC value of 0.910 in humans. These findings demonstrate that the P450 inhibition assay can aid in the future development of liquid biopsy-based diagnostic methods for PD.

IL-6 downregulates hepatic carboxylesterases via NF-κB activation in dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is associated with increased levels of inflammatory factors, which is attributed to the abnormal expression and activity of enzymes and transporters in the liver, affecting drug disposition in vivo. This study aimed to examine the impact of intestinal inflammation on the expression of hepatic carboxylesterases (CESs) in a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Two major CESs isoforms, CES1 and CES2, were down-regulated, accompanied by decreases in hepatic microsomal metabolism of clopidogrel and irinotecan. Meanwhile, IL-6 levels significantly increased compared with other inflammatory factors in the livers of UC mice. In contrast, using IL-6 antibody simultaneously reversed the down-regulation of CES1, CES2, pregnane X receptor (PXR), and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), as well as the nuclear translocation of NF-κB in the liver. We further confirmed that treatment with NF-κB inhibitor abolished IL-6-induced down-regulation of CES1, CES2, PXR, and CAR in vitro. Thus, it was concluded that IL-6 represses hepatic CESs via the NF-κB pathway in DSS-induced colitis. These findings indicate that caution should be exercised concerning the proper and safe use of therapeutic drugs in patients with UC.

Revisiting an Expression Dataset of Discordant Inflammatory Bowel Disease Twin Pairs Using a Mutation Burden Test Reveals CYP2C18 as a Novel Marker

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression features of discordant inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) twin pairs to identify novel molecular features and markers. We collected an expression dataset of discordant twin pairs with ulcerative colitis and performed integrative analysis to identify the genetic-independent expression features. Through deconvolution of the immune cell populations and tissue expression specificity, we refined the candidate genes for susceptibility to ulcerative colitis. We found that dysregulated immune systems and NOD-related pathways were enriched in the expression network of the discordant IBD twin pairs. Among the identified factors were significantly increased proportions of immune cells, including megakaryocytes, neutrophils, natural killer T cells, and lymphatic endothelial cells. The differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in a gene set associated with cortical and medullary thymocytes. Finally, by combining these expression features with genetic resources, we identified some candidate genes with potential to serve as novel markers of ulcerative colitis, such as CYP2C18. Ulcerative colitis is a subtype of inflammatory bowel disease and a polygenic disorder. Through integrative analysis, we identified some genes, such as CYP2C18, that are involved in the pathogenesis of IBD as well as some candidate therapeutic targets, such as LOXL2.

Bioinformatis analysis reveals possible molecular mechanism of PXR on regulating ulcerative colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of IBD. Pregnane X Receptor (PXR) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily. In order to deepen understanding and exploration of the molecular mechanism of regulation roles of PXR on UC, biological informatics analysis was performed. First, 878 overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between UC and normal samples were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database (GSE59071 and GSE38713) by using the "limma" R language package. Then WGCNA analysis was performed by 878 DEGs to obtain co-expression modules that were positively and negatively correlated with clinical traits. GSEA analysis of PXR results obtained the signal pathways enriched in the PXR high and low expression group and the active genes of each signal pathway. Then the association of PXR with genes that are both active in high expression group and negatively related to diseases (gene set 1), or both active in low expression group and negatively related to diseases (gene set 2) was analyzed by String database. Finally, carboxylesterase 2 (CES2), ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK1), PPARG coactivator 1 alpha (PPARGC1A), cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily B member 6 (CYP2B6) from gene set 1 and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8) from gene set 2 were screened out. After the above analysis and reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) verification, we speculated that PXR may exert a protective role on UC by promoting CES2, ABCG2, PCK1, PPARGC1A, CYP2B6 expression and inhibiting CXCL8 expression in their corresponding signal pathway in intestinal tissue.

Integrative transcriptomic and metabonomic profiling analyses reveal the molecular mechanism of Chinese traditional medicine huankuile suspension on TNBS-induced ulcerative colitis

This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic mechanism of Huankuile suspension (HKL), a typical traditional Chinese medicine, on ulcerative colitis (UC) in a rat model. UC model was established by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) enema. Then, the rats were randomly divided into three groups: water treated group, HKL treated group and 5- amino salicylic acid (5-ASA) treated group. After 7 days treatment, the histological score in the HKL treated group was comparable with those in the control group. qRT-PCR and western blot demonstrated that HKL could significantly decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6, while having less effect on anti-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-4 and IL-10. Transcriptomic analysis identified 670 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between HKL treated UC rats and water treated UC rats. These DEGs were mostly related with immune response. Besides, metabonomic profile revealed 136 differential metabolites which were significantly enriched in “pyrimidine metabolism”, “glutathione metabolism”, “purine metabolism” and “citrate cycle”. Finally, integrated analysis revealed that metabonomic pathways including “steroid hormone biosynthesis”, “pyrimidine metabolism”, “purine metabolism”, and “glutathione metabolism” were altered by HKL at both transcriptomic and metabonomic levels. HKL could inhibit inflammation and regulate bile metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, purine metabolism, glutathione metabolism and citrate cycle.

Inhibitory effects of type 2 diabetes serum components in P450 inhibition assays can potential diagnose asymptomatic diabetic mice

Human cytochrome P450 (or CYP) inhibition rates were investigated in sera from high fat diet (HFD)-induced type 2 diabetes (T2D), T2D recovered, and asymptomatic mice models to verify whether P450 inhibition assays could be used for the detection of disease, evaluation of therapeutic effect, and early diagnosis of T2D. In T2D mice, the blood glucose levels markedly increased; while blood glucose levels of recovered mice exceeded 200 mg dL^-1, these eventually returned to the levels seen in control mice. In asymptomatic mice fed with short term HFD (stHFD), no changes in blood glucose levels were observed. The inhibition rates of CYP1A2, CYP2A13, and CYP2C18 in T2D mice significantly increased. Whereas in recovered mice, these changes returned to the same levels noted in the control mice. Changes in the inhibition rates of CYP2A13 and CYP2C18 in stHFD mice were similar to those in T2D mice. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed high area under the ROC curve (AUC) values (0.879-1.000) of CYP2A13 and CYP2C18 in T2D and stHFD mice, indicating their high diagnostic accuracy. Collectively, this study validates the P450 inhibition assay as a method for the therapeutic evaluation and early diagnosis of T2D mouse models.

Detoxification of Aflatoxin B1 Contaminated Maize Using Human CYP3A4

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus). AFB1 is reported to have high thermal stability and is not decomposed by heat treatment during food processing. Therefore, in this study, knowing that AFB1 is metabolized by cytochrome P450 (CYP), our aim was to develop a method to detoxify A. flavus-contaminated maize, under normal temperature and pressure, using Escherichia coli expressing human CYP3A4. First, the metabolic activity of AFB1 by recombinant human CYP3A4 was evaluated. As a result, we confirmed that recombinant human CYP3A4 metabolizes 98% of AFB1. Next, we found that aflatoxin Q1, a metabolite of AFB1 was no longer mutagenic. Furthermore, we revealed that about 50% of the AFB1 metabolic activity can be maintained for 3 months when E. coli expressing human CYP3A4 is freeze-dried in the presence of trehalose. Finally, we found that 80% of AFB1 in A. flavus-contaminated maize was metabolized by E. coli expressing human CYP3A4 in the presence of surfactant triton X-405 at a final concentration of 10% (v/v). From these results, we conclude that AFB1 in A. flavus-contaminated maize can be detoxified under normal temperature and pressure by using E. coli expressing human CYP3A4.