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Background Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an important inflammatory phenotype in bowel disease (IBD), which is caused by multiple potential factors, including fungal dysbiosis. Candida albicans (C. albicans) was confirmed to be an important factor promoting the occurrence and development of UC. Sanhuang decoction (SHD) has been used for UC therapy in China for thousand of years, although its core active constituents and pharmacological mechanism remain undefined. Methods In this work, a murine model of UC with C. albicans colonization was established with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) and C. albicans intragastric administration. The major bioactive constituents and potential mechanism of SHD against UC with fungal dysbiosis were comprehensively examined by combining systems pharmacology and in vivo transcriptomics. Results SHD attenuated C. albicans burden, reduced DAI, increased mucosal integrity and relived systemic inflammation in UC mice. Systems pharmacology analysis identified 9 core bioactive ingredients and 45 hub targets of SHD against UC. Transcriptomics analysis confirmed 370 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after SHD treatment, which were mainly enriched in inflammatory and immune response related signaling pathways. Toll-like receptor and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway were screened out as the candidate targets involved in the action of SHD on fungal dysbiosis-associated UC, which were consistent with the findings in systems pharmacology. The expression of TLR4, IL-1β, NF-κB, PI3K and Akt proteins were stimulated by C. albicans, and partially reversed by SHD in UC mice. Conclusion These findings suggested SHD could be a candidate for the treatment of fungal dysbiosis-associated UC via TLR4-NF-κB and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways.

The family of Wnt proteins have been implicated in embryogenesis by regulation of cell fate and pattern formation, and also in human carcinogenesis. Wnt10B was previously shown to be involved in breast cancer development. The present study assessed the association of Wnt10B expression in human gastric cancer tissue specimens with clinicopathological data from these patients. Wnt10B expression in the regulation of gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration capacity in vitro was then investigated. The data revealed that Wnt10B mRNA and protein were upregulated in gastric cancer tissue samples and the upregulated Wnt10B mRNA was associated with gastric cancer metastasizing to lymph nodes. Knockdown of Wnt10B expression reduced gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration, as well as expression of a cell proliferation marker Ki67. Knockdown of Wnt10B expression inhibited tumor cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition by upregulation of E-cadherin and downregulation of N-cadherin. In addition, Wnt10B knockdown also suppressed tumor cell stemness by downregulation of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 and Nanog expression. The present data indicated that Wnt10B expression performs an important role in gastric cancer progression in vitro. Therefore, targeting of Wnt10B expression or activity may be investigated as a possible strategy for the control of gastric cancer.

This study investigates the potential use of activated carbon prepared from Phragmites Australis for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) and Rhodamine-B (RB) from aqueous solutions. P. Australis activated carbon (PAAC), a new adsorbent, was prepared from P. Australis by H3PO4 activation. Batch adsorption studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of various parameters such as pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and initial 2,4-DCP and RB concentration. Accordingly, the activated carbon developed in this study is effective and practical for utilization in wastewater treatment for 2,4-DCP and RB removal.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease with complex genetic factors. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the SLC22A4 gene have been previously reported to be associated with RA in Japanese but not European populations. This study further investigated the association of SLC22A4 polymorphisms, in particular slc2F1/slc2F2, with RA in the Chinese population, the largest Asian population. A total of 160 human subjects with 95 RA patients and 65 healthy controls were genotyped for slc2F1-G/A and slc2F2-C/T polymorphisms. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the genotype distribution of these two polymorphisms between the two groups. In addition, the presence of slc2F1 A allele and slc2F2 T allele carries a 1.93-fold and 2.14-fold increased risk for anticyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) positivity, respectively. Overall, this study provided evidence that SLC22A4 gene polymorphisms played important roles in the etiology of RA in the largest Asian population, the Chinese population.

In order to determine the prevalence and molecular characterization of hemoglobinopathies in the Wuxi region of Jiangsu Province in the People's Republic of China (PRC), a total of 10,297 healthy people selected from a regional hospital were screened. Hemoglobin (Hb) electrophoresis, complete blood cell (CBC) count, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, reverse dot-blot and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) were used to detect Hb variants, thalassemias and hereditary persistence of fetal Hb (HPFH). Two thousand and twenty-one adult subjects were screened for thalassemia, five cases were identified as α-thalassemia (α-thal) carriers including three cases of the -α(3.7) (rightward) deletion, one case of the - -(SEA) deletion and one case of β-thal [IVS-II-654 (CT), (HBB: c.316-197CT)]. The incidence of Hb variants, thalassemia and HPFH/δβ-thal were 0.136% (14/10,297), 0.25% (5/2021) and 0.0001% (1/10,297), respectively. Eight genotypes of Hb variants were found, including Hb E [β26(B8)Glu→Lys, GAGAAG; HBB: c.79GA], Hb J-Bangkok [β56(D7)Gly→Asp (GGCGAC); HBB; c.170GA], Hb G-Coushatta [β22(4)Glu→Ala (GAAGCA); HBB: c.68AC], Hb Queens [α34(B15)Leu→Arg (CTGCGG) (α2 or α1); HBA2: c.104TG (or HBA1)], Hb I [α16(A14)Lys→Glu, AAGGAG (α1); HBA1: c.49AG], Hb Beijing [α16(A14)Lys→Asn (AAGAAC or AAT) (α2 or α1); HBA2: c.51GC (or HBA1) or 51GT (or HBA1)], Hb Ube-2 [α68(E17)Asn→Asp (AACGAC) (α2 or α1); HBA2: c.205AG (or HBA1)] and Hb G-Taipei [β22(B4)Glu→Gly (GAAGGA); HBB: c.68AG]. A Sicilian δβ(0)-thal, identified for the first time in Asia, was also found in this survey.