Catalpol ameliorates LPS-induced inflammatory response by activating AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in rat intestinal epithelial cells

Goat milk derived small extracellular vesicles ameliorate LPS-induced intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction, oxidative stress, and apoptosis by inhibiting the MAPK signaling pathway

Intestinal injury is often accompanied by epithelial barrier dysfunction, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Previous research studies have demonstrated that small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) from animal milk play a crucial role in regulating intestinal injury. Nonetheless, there has been limited research on the impact of goat milk sEVs on intestinal damage. This study aims to explore the functional differences between proteins in colostrum-derived sEVs (CME) and mature milk-derived sEVs (MME) from goat and elucidate their effects and mechanisms on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced injury in IEC-6. Proteomic analysis revealed that both CME and MME are rich in various bioactive proteins that have regulatory effects on cell damage. CME and MME significantly improved LPS-induced IEC-6 barrier dysfunction and oxidative stress. Additionally, CME and MME alleviated LPS-induced IEC-6 proliferation inhibition and apoptosis. Notably, CME exhibited a more significant improvement effect. RNA-Seq analysis indicated that CME ameliorates IEC-6 injury by inhibiting multiple genes and signaling pathways associated with cell damage, particularly the MAPK signaling pathway. In summary, goat milk-derived sEVs improve LPS-induced IEC-6 injury by targeting the MAPK signaling pathway, significantly restoring the intestinal epithelial barrier function, reducing oxidative stress, and alleviating apoptosis. These findings offer scientific evidence supporting the potential application of goat milk-derived sEVs as protective agents against intestinal injury.

Goat Milk Exosomes Ameliorate Ulcerative Colitis in Mice through Modulation of the Intestinal Barrier, Gut Microbiota, and Metabolites

Goat milk is rich in a variety of nutrients that are important for intestinal health and disease prevention. However, the role of exosomes in goat milk remains to be elucidated. This study investigated for the first time the therapeutic efficacy and molecular underlying mechanisms of mature milk exosomes (M-exo) and goat colostrum exosomes (C-exo) on dextran sodium sulfate-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice. The findings demonstrate that M-exo and C-exo significantly improved physiological indices, suppressed the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, and diminished oxidative stress and apoptosis in UC mice. Moreover, C-exo and M-exo restored the intestinal barrier function, remodeled the gut microbiota, and improved metabolite composition in the feces of colitis mice. In conclusion, goat milk exosomes ameliorate UC in mice, which provides a basis for the development of functional food applications for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Exploring the gut microbiota mediated biotransformation of Senecio scandens Buch.-Ham.: Insights from metabolite spectrum with UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS and bioinformatics analysis of gut microbiota metabolites

Senecio scandens Buch.-Ham., a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used clinically, exhibits various pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antiviral, and antibacterial activities. However, its water extracts' chemical components and metabolites are inadequately understood, limiting further research. In this study, the chemical components and metabolism processes of Senecio scandens, both in vivo (plasma, feces, urine, and bile) and in vitro (gut microbiota and liver microsomes), were characterized based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry. Additionally, metabolites detectable in fecal samples and intestinal microbiota incubated but absent in liver microsomes were identified as characteristic metabolites of intestinal microbiota. The targets of the characteristic metabolites of intestinal microbiota were collected, followed by exploration of potential pathways through KEGG enrichment analysis. As a result, a total of 133 chemical components were preliminarily identified, including 35 organic acids, 21 alkaloids, 19 flavonoids and their glycosides, 17 phenylpropanoids, 10 jacaranda ketones, and 31 other compounds. Notably, 12 of these were potentially novel compounds. In addition, 39 prototype components in rats and 109 metabolites were identified and characterized, including 102 in vivo and 52 metabolites in vitro (51 in rat gut microbiota and 24 in rat liver microsomes). The main metabolic pathways include oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis, methylation, glucuronidation, sulfonation, and acetylation reactions. Furthermore, KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the characteristic metabolites of intestinal microbiota may be related to the ErbB, FoxO, mTOR, and MAPK signaling pathways, exhibiting anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects. In summary, the chemical components and metabolites of Senecio scandens were comprehensively identified using a rapid and accurate method, providing a scientific basis for the in-depth study of the material basis and its clinical application of Senecio scandens.

Goat milk exosomal microRNAs alleviate LPS-induced intestinal inflammation in mice

Intestinal inflammation is a common digestive system disease. Milk-derived exosomes can participate in intercellular communication and transport a variety of bioactive components, and the microRNAs (miRNAs) they carry play important roles in a variety of biological processes in the body. At present, the preventive effect and mechanism of action of goat milk exosomes and their derived miRNAs on intestinal inflammation are still unclear. In this study, the protective effect of goat milk exosomes on LPS-induced intestinal inflammation was investigated using mouse intestinal inflammation model and IEC-6 cell inflammation model. Small RNA sequencing was used to analyze the miRNA expression profile of goat milk exosomes. In this study, C-Exo and M-Exo alleviated intestinal inflammation by reducing the LPS-induced release of proinflammatory cytokines, inhibiting the increase in the NLRP3 protein and the activation of the TLR4/NFκB signaling pathway. C-Exo has a more significant inhibitory effect on them, and better therapeutic efficacy than M-Exo. Notably, the target genes of miRNAs in C-Exo and M-Exo were significantly enriched in immune-related pathways. Furthermore, their derived miR-26a-5p and miR-30a-5p were found to ameliorate the IEC-6 inflammatory response. These findings suggest that miRNAs in goat milk exosomes have the potential to attenuate LPS-induced intestinal inflammation.

The significance of gut microbiota in the etiology of autoimmune hepatitis: a narrative review

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the liver that is mediated by autoimmunity and has complex pathogenesis. Its prevalence has increased globally. Since the liver is the first organ to be exposed to harmful substances, such as gut-derived intestinal microbiota and its metabolites, gut health is closely related to liver health, and the "liver-gut axis" allows abnormalities in the gut microbiota to influence the development of liver-related diseases such as AIH. Changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota and its resultant disruption of the intestinal barrier and microbial transport are involved in multiple ways in the disruption of immune homeostasis and inflammation, thereby influencing the development of AIH. In terms of the mechanisms involved in immune, the gut microbiota or its metabolites, which is decreased in secondary bile acids, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and polyamines, and increased in lipopolysaccharide (LPS), branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), tryptophan metabolite, amino acid, and bile acid, can disrupt immune homeostasis by activating various immune cells and immune-related signaling pathways, resulting in aberrant activation of the immune system. Clarifying this mechanism has significant clinical implications for the treatment of AIH with drugs that target intestinal microbiota and related signaling pathways. Therefore, this narrative review summarizes the progress in exploring the involvement of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of AIH, with the aim of helping to improve the precise targeting of therapeutic treatments against AIH for the benefit of clinical AIH treatment.