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The gut microbiota is the most abundant and diverse microbiota in the human body and the vagus nerve is the most widely distributed and complex nerve in the body, both of them are essential in maintaining homeostasis. The most important phenomenon is how they coordinate to regulate functions, which has attracted the great attention of scientists. The academic literature on the correlation with a host of intestinal diseases and even systemic diseases has revealed the bidirectional communication between the gut microbiota and the brain, which can be carried out via multiple patterns. In the review, firstly, we have a general overview of the gut microbiota and the gut microbiota-brain axis. Secondly, according to the distribution characteristics of the vagus nerve, we analyzed and summarized its function in the intestinal tract. At the same time, we have summarized the underlying mechanism of some behavior changes such as depressive and anxiety-like behaviors and related neurodegenerative diseases caused by the vagus nerve and intestinal microecological environment disorders, and then we also analyzed inconsistency of the experimental evidence in order to propose novel strategies for the clinical practice.

Dendritic cells (DCs), including conventional DCs (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), serve as the sentinel cells of the immune system and are responsible for presenting antigen information. Moreover, the role of DCs derived from monocytes (moDCs) in the development of inflammation has been emphasized. Several studies have shown that the function of DCs can be influenced by gut microbes including gut bacteria and viruses. Abnormal changes/reactions in intestinal DCs are potentially associated with diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and intestinal tumors, allowing DCs to be a new target for the treatment of these diseases. In this review, we summarized the physiological functions of DCs in the intestinal micro-environment, their regulatory relationship with intestinal microorganisms and their regulatory mechanism in intestinal diseases.

GLP-1 is derived from intestinal L cells, which takes effect through binding to GLP-1R and is inactivated by the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4). Since its discovery, GLP-1 has emerged as an incretin hormone for its facilitation in insulin release and reduction of insulin resistance (IR). However, GLP-1 possesses broader pharmacological effects including anti-inflammation, neuro-protection, regulating blood pressure (BP), and reducing lipotoxicity. These effects are interconnected to the physiological and pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), hypertension, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Currently, the underlying mechanism of these effects is still not fully illustrated and a better understanding of them may help identify promising therapeutic targets of AD, hypertension, and NASH. Therefore, we focus on the biological characteristics of GLP-1, render an overview of the mechanism of GLP-1 effects in diseases, and investigate the potential of GLP-1 analogues for the treatment of related diseases in this review.

As the main player in humoral immunity, antibodies play indispensable roles in the body’s immune system. Plasma cells (PCs), as antibody factories, are important contributors to humoral immunity. PCs, recognized by their unique marker CD138, are always discovered in the medullary cords of spleen and lymph nodes and in bone marrow and mucosal lymphoid tissue. This article will review the origin and differentiation of PCs, characteristics of short- and long-lived PCs, and the secretion of antibodies, such as IgA, IgM, and IgG. PCs play a crucial role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis using immunomodulation though complex mechanisms. Clearly, PCs play functional roles in maintaining intestinal health, but more details are needed to fully understand all the other effects of intestinal PCs.

Due to the lack of research between the inner layers in the structure of colonic mucous and the metabolism of fatty acid in the constipation model, we aim to determine the changes in the mucous phenotype of the colonic glycocalyx and the microbial community structure following treatment with Rhubarb extract in our research. The constipation and treatment models are generated using adult male C57BL/6N mice. We perform light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to detect a Muc2-rich inner mucus layer attached to mice colon under different conditions. In addition, 16S rDNA sequencing is performed to examine the intestinal flora. According to TEM images, we demonstrate that Rhubarb can promote mucin secretion and find direct evidence of dendritic structure-linked mucus structures with its assembly into a lamellar network in a pore size distribution in the isolated colon section. Moreover, the diversity of intestinal flora has noticeable changes in constipated mice. The present study characterizes a dendritic structure and persistent cross-links have significant changes accompanied by the alteration of intestinal flora in feces in models of constipation and pretreatment with Rhubarb extract.