Gut microbiota dysbiosis could aggravate the development of ulcerative colitis (UC). Companilactobacillus crustorum MN047 (CCMN) is a potential gut microbiota-regulating probiotic that could produce multiple novel bacteriocins. In this study, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was used to verify whether CCMN could alleviate dextran sulfate sodium-induced UC by regulating gut microbiota. Results showed that both CCMN and FMT ameliorated the symptoms of UC, including attenuating the increased disease activity index, shortened colon length, gut barrier damage, and inflammation. Briefly, CCMN and FMT upregulated the expressions of MUCs and tight junctions, downregulated the expressions of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, increased fecal short-chain fatty acids, and lowered serum lipopolysaccharides, which were associated with the regulation of gut microbiota (e.g., increased Akkermansia, Blautia, and Ruminococcus levels). These results demonstrated that CCMN could ameliorate UC by modulating gut microbiota and inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. Therefore, CCMN could be considered as a potential probiotic supplement for ameliorating UC.
With the increase in unhealthy lifestyles, obesity is increasingly common, which could cause many metabolic diseases. In recent research, natural product extracts have shown tremendous potential antiobesity effects via different mechanisms. In this review, we focused on widely adopted extraction methods, bioactive ingredients types, and antiobesity mechanisms of natural product extracts in the recent reports. The extraction methods include solid-liquid extraction, microwave-assisted extractions, and supercritical fluid extraction. Moreover, the bioactive ingredients identified in natural product extracts are phenolic compounds, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and terpenoids. These exert antiobesity effects through multiple mechanisms, including suppressing the appetite, increasing energy expenditure, inhibiting enzyme activity, modulating lipid homeostasis and adipocyte lifecycle, reducing oxidative and inflammation, and improving intestinal bacteria. However, the antiobesity effects of natural products require further evaluation. Furthermore, the improvement of the bioavailability and effective and safe human dose of these bioactive ingredients should be the focus of future work.
Aim: To investigate the diagnostic efficacy and clinical application value of plasma endothelin-1 for diabetic retinopathy using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Methods: This was a prospective investigational study. Funduscopy and fundus fluorescein angiography were used as gold standards for the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. Plasma endothelin-1 was measured in 96 diabetic patients with retinopathy (the case group) and 144 diabetic patients without retinopathy (the control group). Enumerative data were listed in a fourfold table. The measurement data were analyzed by Student’s t test and evaluated by cross-table analysis and ROC curve analysis. Results: (1) The plasma endothelin-1 concentration was higher in the case group than the control group (p = 0.002 < 0.01). (2) If the plasma endothelin-1 level of 162 pg/ml was adopted as the threshold for clinical diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, the diagnostic sensitivity was 71.2%, diagnostic specificity 58% and diagnostic accuracy 66%. The positive predictive value was 69.81% and the negative predictive value 59.46%, and the positive likelihood ratio was 1.69 and the negative likelihood ratio 0.50. (3) When plasma endothelin-1 was used as a diagnostic criterion for diabetic retinopathy, the area under the ROC curve was 0.737. Conclusions: Plasma endothelin-1 plays an important role in the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy. When 162 pg/ml of plasma endothelin-1 was adopted as the diagnostic threshold, the diagnostic accuracy was medium; hence, the plasma endothelin-1 level can be used as the first step for diabetic retinopathy screening.
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