Allomyrina dichotoma larval extract has protective effects against gut permeability of dextran sulfate sodium-fed Drosophila by E-cadherin and armadillo

Chitosan oligosaccharide improves intestinal homeostasis to achieve the protection for the epithelial barrier of female Drosophila melanogaster via regulating intestinal microflora

Chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) is a new type of marine functional oligosaccharide with biological activities such as regulating intestinal microflora and improving intestinal immunity. In this study, female Drosophila melanogaster was used as a model organism to evaluate the effect of COS on intestinal injury by H2O2 induction, and its mechanism was explored through the analysis of intestinal homeostasis. The results showed that 0.25% of COS could effectively prolong the lifespan of stressed female D. melanogaster by increasing its antioxidant capacity and maintaining intestinal homeostasis, which included protecting the mechanical barrier, promoting the chemical barrier, and regulating the biological barrier by affecting its autophagy and the antioxidant signaling pathway. Additionally, the protective effect of COS on the intestinal barrier and homeostasis of D. melanogaster under oxidative stress status is directly related to its regulation of the intestinal microflora, which could decrease excessive autophagy and activate the antioxidant system to promote health.

IMPORTANCE

The epithelial barrier plays an important role in the organism's health. Chitosan oligosaccharide (COS), a new potential prebiotic, exhibits excellent antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory effects. Our study elucidated the protective mechanisms of COS on the intestinal barrier of Drosophila melanogaster under oxidative stress, which could provide new insights into COS application in various industries, such as food, agriculture, and medicine.

Protective effect of San Huang Pill and its bioactive compounds against ulcerative colitis in Drosophila via modulation of JAK/STAT, apoptosis, Toll, and Nrf2/Keap1 pathways

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

San Huang Pill (SHP) is a prescription in Dunhuang Ancient Medical Prescription, which has the efficacy of heat-clearing and dampness-drying, and is a traditional formula for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. However, its efficacy and mechanism in treating ulcerative colitis (UC) are still unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To investigate the protective effects of SHP and its bioactive compounds against Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS)-induced intestinal damage using the Drosophila melanogaster model, and to detect the molecular mechanism of SHP in the treatment of UC.

METHODS

Survival rate, locomotion, feeding, and excretion were used to explore the anti-inflammatory effects of SHP. The pharmacotoxicity of SHP was measured using developmental analysis. Intestinal integrity, intestinal length, intestinal acid-base homeostasis, and Tepan blue assay were used to analyze the protective effect of SHP against DSS-induced intestinal damage. The molecular mechanism of SHP was detected using DHE staining, immunofluorescence, real-time PCR, 16 S rRNA gene sequencing, and network pharmacology analysis. Survival rate, intestinal length, and integrity analysis were used to detect the protective effect of bioactive compounds of SHP against intestinal damage.

RESULTS

SHP supplementation significantly increased the survival rate, restored locomotion, increased metabolic rate, maintained intestinal morphological integrity and intestinal homeostasis, protected intestinal epithelial cells, and alleviated intestinal oxidative damage in adult flies under DSS stimulation. Besides, administration of SHP had no toxic effect on flies. Moreover, SHP supplementation remarkably decreased the expression levels of genes related to JAK/STAT, apoptosis, and Toll signaling pathways, increased the gene expressions of the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway, and also reduced the relative abundance of harmful bacteria in DSS-treated flies. Additionally, the ingredients in SHP (palmatine, berberine, baicalein, wogonin, rhein, and aloeemodin) had protection against DSS-induced intestinal injury, such as prolonging survival rate, increasing intestinal length, and maintaining intestinal barrier integrity.

CONCLUSION

SHP had a strong anti-inflammatory function, and remarkably alleviated DSS-induced intestinal morphological damage and intestinal homeostatic imbalance in adult flies by regulating JAK/STAT, apoptosis, Toll and Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathways, and also gut microbial homeostasis. This suggests that SHP may be a potential complementary and alternative medicine herb therapy for UC, which provides a basis for modern pharmacodynamic evaluation of other prescriptions in Dunhuang ancient medical prescription.

Phase separation of BuGZ regulates gut regeneration and aging through interaction with m6A regulators

Exploring the role of phase separation in intracellular compartment formation is an active area of research. However, the associations of phase separation with intestinal stem cell (ISC)-dependent regeneration and aging remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that BuGZ, a coacervating mitotic effector, shows age- and injury-associated condensation in Drosophila ISC nuclei during interphase. BuGZ condensation promotes ISC proliferation, affecting Drosophila gut repair and longevity. Moreover, m6A reader YT521-B acts as the transcriptional and functional downstream of BuGZ. The binding of YT521-B promotor or m6A writer Ime4/ Mettl14 to BuGZ controls its coacervation, indicating that the promotor may accelerate the phase transition of its binding transcription factor. Hence, we propose that phase separation and m6A regulators may be critical for ameliorating ISC-dependent gut regeneration and aging and requires further study.

Polysaccharides from Bletilla striata protect against mercury-induced gastrointestinal toxicology in adult Drosophila melanogaster via modulation of sestrin

Oxidative stress was one of the major causes of heavy metal-induced toxicity in organisms. The polysaccharide from Bletilla striata (Orchidaceae) (BSP) has been recently recognized as a novel player in the management of oxidative stress response in organisms. Here, we took the midgut of adult Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae) (D. melanogaster), a functional equivalent to the mammalian intestine and stomach, as a model to evaluate the protective effects of BSP (50 μg/mL) on mercuric chloride-induced gastrointestinal toxicology in insects. As a result, BSP exposure significantly improved the survival rates and climbing ability of adult flies exposed to mercury. Further study demonstrated that BSP significantly alleviated the mercury-induced oxidative injury to midgut epithelium, at least partly, through increasing antioxidant enzyme activity (glutathione-S-transferase and superoxide dismutase), decreasing reactive oxidative species production, inhibiting cell death, restoring intestinal epithelial barrier and regulating intestinal stem cell-mediated tissue regeneration. Additionally, sestrin, an oxidative-stress gene, was required in mediating the protection of BSP against mercury-induced oxidative damage to midgut. This study suggested that BSP has great potential for future application in the treatment and prevention of heavy metal-induced gastrointestinal adversities in mammals.

Exposure to bisphenol A induced oxidative stress, cell death and impaired epithelial homeostasis in the adult Drosophila melanogaster midgut

Recently, the chemical compound Bisphenol A (BPA) has been attracting worldwide attention due to its various toxic effects in animals, including reprotoxicity, neurotoxicity, hepatoxicity, and nephrotoxicity. Here, the midgut of adult Drosophila melanogaster (D. melanogaster), an invertebrate model organism, was employed to investigate the gastrointestinal toxicity of BPA in D. melanogaster and explore its underlying mechanisms of action in insects. As a result, exposure of flies to 0.5 mM BPA resulted in a dramatic morphological alteration of D. melanogaster midgut and decrease in survival rates and climbing ability of flies. Further study indicated that BPA induced high levels of oxidative stress in D. melanogaster midgut due to the imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species and the activities of cellular antioxidant enzymes, including glutathione-S-transferase, catalase and superoxide dismutase. Oxidative stress induced by BPA then caused intestinal epithelial cell death and gut barrier dysfunction and elevated gut permeability, leading to oxidative injury of midgut epithelium. Antioxidant vitamin E alleviated midgut injury induced by BPA. Subsequently, BPA-induced oxidative injury of midgut further stimulated the proliferation of intestinal stem cell (ISC) and ISC-mediated midgut regeneration, but did not alter cell fate determination of ISCs in Drosophila midgut. Meanwhile, activation of Jun N-terminal kinase signal pathway was found to be required for BPA-induced cell death and tissue regeneration in midgut. Collectively, the present study provided additional evidence from an invertebrate model organism that BPA exposure induced gastrointestinal toxicity in D. melanogaster and further extended our understanding of the molecular mechanisms mediating BPA toxicity in insects.

Using Drosophila melanogaster as a suitable platform for drug discovery from natural products in inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and life-treating inflammatory disease that can occur in multiple parts of the human intestine and has become a worldwide problem with a continually increasing incidence. Because of its mild early symptoms, most of them will not attract people's attention and may cause more serious consequences. There is an urgent need for new therapeutics to prevent disease progression. Natural products have a variety of active ingredients, diverse biological activities, and low toxicity or side effects, which are the new options for preventing and treating the intestinal inflammatory diseases. Because of multiple genetic models, less ethical concerns, conserved signaling pathways with mammals, and low maintenance costs, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has become a suitable model for studying mechanism and treatment strategy of IBD. Here, we review the advantages of fly model as screening platform in drug discovery, describe the conserved molecular pathways as therapetic targets for IBD between mammals and flies, dissect the feasibility of Drosophila model in IBD research, and summarize the natural products for IBD treatment using flies. This review comprehensively elaborates that the benefit of flies as a perfact model to evaluate the therapeutic potential of phytochemicals against IBD.

Innovation in Alternative Food Sources: A Review of a Technological State-of-the-Art of Insects in Food Products

Insects present great potential for the food industry due to their easier rearing conditions and high nutritional value, in comparison with traditional livestock. However, there is a lack of evaluation of the technological status of food products developed with edible insects. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the emergent technological and scientific applications of edible insects in the food industry through a prospective study of patent documents and research articles. Espacenet was used as a research tool, applying the terms Insect, Pupa, Larva, or Nymph and the codes A23L33 and A23V2002. A total of 1139 documents were found-341 were related to the study. Orbit^® was used to evaluate technological domains and clusters of concepts. Scopus database research was performed to assess the prevalence of insect research, with the term "edible and insect*". The main insects used were silkworms, bees, beetles, mealworms, crickets, and cicadas. Protein isolates were the predominant technology, as they function as an ingredient in food products or supplements. A diverse application possibility for insects was found due to their nutritional composition. The insect market is expected to increase significantly in the next years, representing an opportunity to develop novel high-quality/sustainable products.

Flos puerariae ameliorates the intestinal inflammation of Drosophila via modulating the Nrf2/Keap1, JAK-STAT and Wnt signaling

Gut homeostasis is important for human health, and its disruption can lead to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Flos Puerariae is a herb with a wide variety of pharmacological activities including antioxidant, antidiabetic, antialcoholismic and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the role of Flos Puerariae on treating IBD remains obscure. Here, we employed Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to investigate the protective effect of Flos Puerariae extract (FPE) against sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-induced intestinal injury. Our data showed that FPE had no toxic effect in flies, and significantly extended lifespan in SDS-inflamed flies, reduced stem cell proliferation in the midgut, and maintained intestinal morphological integrity. Furthermore, FPE remarkably recused the altered expression level of genes and proteins in Nrf2/Keap1 signaling, JAK-STAT signaling and Wnt signaling pathways in gut of inflammation flies. Thus, FPE has a protective effect against intestinal injury possibly via increasing the Nrf2/keap1 pathway and suppressing the JAK-STAT and Wnt signaling pathways, which would have tremendous potential for treating IBD.