Background The effects of β-glucan on colitis mice are contradictory in previous reports. As a result, it is still unclear whether there is an anti-colitis effect in Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide (GLP), which is mainly composed of β-glucan. Moreover, the association between GLP function and gut microbiota remains to be elucidated. Objective This study aimed to investigate whether GLP consumption improved rat dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis by regulating gut microbiota and altering colonic epithelial expression. Design The disease activity index (DAI) scores and the cecal short chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels of DSS-induced colitis rats fed with a GLP diet (Group GLP, n = 6) and a control diet (Group Con, n = 6) were investigated and analyzed. Moreover, the profiles of gut microbiota and colonic epithelial expression were analyzed using metagenomics and transcriptomics. Results GLP consumption significantly lowered animal DAI scores by producing more SCFAs by increasing SCFA-producing bacteria such as Ruminococcus_1 and reducing pathogens such as Escherichia-Shigella in both the small intestine and cecum of rat. Moreover, GLP consumption regulated 11 genes, including six upregulated ( Ccl5 , Cd3e , Cd8a , Il21r , Lck , and Trbv ) and five downregulated ( Ccl3 , Gro , Il11 , Mhc2 , and Ptgs ) genes enriched in six inflammation-related Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, resulting in enhancement of immunity and reduction of inflammatory response and colonic cancer risk. Conclusions GLP consumption alleviated DSS-induced colitis and may have potential for ulcerative colitis relief.
P53, a vital anticancer gene, controls the transcription and translation of a series of genes, and implement the cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis by regulating their complicated signal pathways. Under radiotherapy, cell can trigger internal self-defense mechanisms in fighting against genome stresses induced by acute ion radiation (IR). To simulate the investigating of cellular responding acute IR at single cell level further, we propose a model of P53 gene regulatory networks under radiotherapy. Our model can successfully implement the kinetics of double strand breaks (DSBs) generating and their repair, ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) activation, as well as P53-MDM2 feedback regulating. By comparing simulations under different IR dose, we can try to find the optimal strategy in controlling of IR dose and therapy time, and provide some theoretical analysis to obtain much better outcome of radiotherapy further.
The function of plant polyphenols in controlling body weight has been in focus for a long time. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of plant polyphenols on fecal microbiota utilizing oligosaccharides. Three plant polyphenols, quercetin, catechin and puerarin, were added into liquid media for fermenting for 24 h. The pH values, OD600 of the cultures and the content of carbohydrates at 0, 6, 10, 14, 18 and 24 h were determined. The abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes in each culture was quantified with qPCR after 10 h of fermentation, and the bacterial composition was analyzed using the software Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology. The results revealed that all three plant polyphenols could significantly inhibit the growth of Bacteroidetes (P < 0.01) and Firmicutes (P < 0.01) while at the same time down-regulate the ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes (P < 0.01). But the fecal bacteria could maintain the ability to hydrolyze fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) in vitro. Among the tested polyphenols, catechin presented the most intense inhibitory activity towards the growth of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, and quercetin was the second. Only the samples with catechin had a significantly lower energy metabolism (P < 0.05). In conclusion, plant polyphenols can change the pathway of degrading FOS or even energy metabolism in vivo by altering gut microbiota composition. It may be one of the mechanisms in which plant polyphenols can lead to body weight loss. It's the first report to study in vitro gastrointestinal microbiota fermenting dietary fibers under the intervention of plant polyphenols.
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