1.Olfactory Receptors Expressed in The Intestine and Their Functions
Pei-Wen YANG ; Meng-Meng YUAN ; Ying ZHOU ; Peng LI ; Gui-Hong QI ; Ying YANG ; Zhong-Yi MAO ; Meng-Sha ZHOU ; Xiao-Shuang MAO ; Jian-Ping XIE ; Yi-Nan YANG ; Shi-Hao SUN
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(3):534-549
Olfactory receptors (ORs) form the largest superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Traditionally recognized for their role in the nasal olfactory epithelium, where they mediate the sense of smell, accumulating evidence has firmly established their ectopic expression in non-olfactory tissues, including the intestine, lungs, and kidneys. The intestine, as the primary site for nutrient digestion and absorption, harbors a highly complex chemical environment. To adapt to this environment, the gut employs a sophisticated network of “chemosensors” to monitor luminal contents and maintain homeostasis. Among these sensors, intestinal ORs have emerged as crucial functional components, serving as a molecular bridge that connects environmental chemical signals—such as food-derived odorants—to specific physiological responses. This discovery has significantly deepened our understanding of how dietary flavors and compounds influence intestinal physiology at the molecular level. This review systematically summarizes the expression profiles, ligand classification, and biological functions of ORs within the gastrointestinal tract. Studies indicate that intestinal ORs exhibit distinct spatial distribution patterns across different gut segments and display cell-type specificity, particularly within enterocytes and enteroendocrine cells. These receptors function as versatile sensors capable of recognizing a wide variety of ligands, including exogenous dietary components, gut microbiota metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, and endogenous small molecules like azelaic acid. Upon activation by specific ligands, intestinal ORs trigger intracellular signaling cascades, primarily involving the AC-cAMP-PKA pathway or calcium influx channels. A major focus of this review is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which these receptors regulate the secretion of gut hormones. Activation of specific ORs in enteroendocrine cells has been shown to stimulate the release of hormones such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), peptide YY (PYY), and serotonin (5-HT), thereby modulating systemic energy metabolism, glucose homeostasis, and gastrointestinal motility. Furthermore, the review addresses the critical roles of ORs in immune regulation and pathology. Evidence suggests that specific ORs contribute to the maintenance of intestinal immune homeostasis and may offer protection against inflammation. Beyond their involvement in inflammatory responses, ORs such as Olfr78 have been shown to regulate the differentiation and function of intestinal endocrine cells. Similarly, Olfr544 has been demonstrated to alleviate intestinal inflammation by remodeling the gut microbiome and metabolome. These findings collectively suggest that specific ORs hold promise as therapeutic targets for mitigating intestinal inflammation and maintaining gut homeostasis. Additionally, the review explores the emerging role of ORs in cancer. Although OR expression is often downregulated in tumor tissues compared to normal mucosa, activation of specific ORs by certain ligands can inhibit tumor cell proliferation and migration and induce apoptosis via pathways such as MEK/ERK and p38 MAPK. Conversely, other receptors, such as OR7C1, may serve as biomarkers for cancer-initiating cells. In conclusion, intestinal ORs represent a vital component of the gut’s sensory network. The review also discusses the translational potential of these findings. By elucidating the precise pairing relationships between dietary components and specific ORs, novel therapeutic strategies could be developed. Intestinal ORs may thus emerge as promising targets for nutritional and pharmacological interventions in metabolic diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, and malignancies.
2.Sodium lactate modulates TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway for treatment of right heart failure
Zhong-jian ZHANG ; Xiao-ying LUO ; Di QU ; Chun-liu QIAN ; Ting ZENG ; Zhi-ling HE ; Jia-jie LIAO ; Shuang LI
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(10):1843-1849
Aim To investigate the effects of sodium lactate(NALA)on right heart failure induced by monocrotaline(MCT)-induced pulmonary arterial hy-pertension in rats and to reveal the underlying mecha-nisms.Methods Forty male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly allocated into four groups,with ten rats in each group,namely,MCT group,NALA group,and NALA+MCT group;the MCT and NALA+MCT groups were administered a single intraperito-neal injection of MCT at 60 mg·kg-1 to induce pul-monary hypertension,and one week later,the NALA and NALA+MCT groups received intraperitoneal in-jections of NALA at 0.1 g·kg-1(once a day,for 5 weeks),while the CON and MCT groups received e-qual volumes of physiological saline(once a day,for 5 weeks);right heart function was assessed using echo-cardiography,right ventricular and pulmonary artery remodeling were evaluated via histopathological sec-tions,and the expression levels of ANP,BNP,and in-flammatory factors were measured by ELISA,along with assessments of oxidative stress levels,Western blot detection of the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.Results Compared to the CON group,the MCT group exhibited increased RVSP and RVHI,decreased right heart function,in-creased collagen fiber deposition,and elevated oxida-tive stress and inflammatory factor expression,and the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signa-ling pathway increased(P<0.05);compared to the MCT group,the NALA+MCT group showed reduced RVSP and RVHI,improved right heart function,atten-uated pulmonary vascular remodeling,decreased ex-pression of ANP,BNP,inflammatory factors,and H2O2,along with increased antioxidant enzyme expres-sion,and the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway decreased(P<0.05).Conclusion NALA can inhibit right ventric-ular remodeling in rats with pulmonary hypertension,and the underlying mechanism may involve the allevia-tion of inflammatory responses and oxidative stress through the inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.
3.Construction,prokaryotic expression and in vitro TLR5 activity assay of Esche-richia coli Nissle 1917 flagellin's hypervariable region deletion
Guixian ZHOU ; Shihui WU ; Minle WANG ; Yixiao LIAO ; Shuang LI ; Zemin YANG ; Ying YANG
Chinese Journal of Veterinary Science 2025;45(3):449-457
The structure and potential antigenic epitopes of FliCEcN were analysed using bioinformat-ics technology.With the help of ClonExpress? homologous recombination technology,primers were designed to deletion of different structural domains in the highly variable region of FliCEcN and cloned into pET-28a(+)expression vector for expression.The expressed flagellin variants were identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot.Endotoxin residues in the flagellin variants were detected by horseshoe crab reagent chromatography,and Caco-2 cells were stimulated with differ-ent concentrations of flagellin variants.The biological activity of each flagellin variant was assessed by detecting the secretion level of IL-8.Bioinformatic analysis showed that most of the structural domains in the highly variable region of FliCEcN were predicted to contain potential antigenic epitopes.PC R results showed that fliC△820-1 518,fliC△736-963,fliC△985-1 200,fliC △748-828,fliC△1 114-1 191,andfliC△1 225-1311 were approximately 1 095,1 566,1 578,1 713,1 716 and 1 707 bp,respectively.SDS-PAGE results showed that the sizes of the flagellin variants treated with nickel column purifi-cation and dialysis replication were about 41.36,57.06,57.50,61.97,61.95 and 61.56 kDa,respec-tively.Western blot results showed that all six flagellin variants reacted specifically with anti-His monoclonal antibody and E.coli H7 antigen diagnostic serum.The results of TLR5 activity assay showed that the flagellin variants missing different structural domains retained their TLR5 agonist function.In this study,six flagellin variants with different structural domains of FliCEcN deletion hypervariable region were successfully constructed,and all of them retained their TLR5 agonist function and showed good biological properties.This provides a reference for further research on the adjuvant effect of flagellin after deletion of different structural domains and the effect of flagel-lin antibody titer on its adjuvant effect.
4.Water extract of Rehmannia glutinosa improves bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice and its metabolic mechanism
Zi-yu ZHANG ; Meng-nan ZENG ; Peng-li GUO ; Yu-han ZHANG ; Xiang-da LI ; Yan-xing WU ; Shuang-ying FU ; Zi-chang LIAN ; Wei-sheng FENG ; Xiao-ke ZHENG
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(12):2315-2325
Aim To investigate the intervention effect of Rehmannia radix water extract on bleomycin(BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice combined with metabolomics and to reveal the potential mechanism,in order to provide new ideas for clinical treatment of pul-monary fibrosis.Methods Male C57BL/6N mice were randomly divided into the control group,model group,pirfenidone group(positive control,PFD,270 mg·kg-1),and low dose(DH-L,4.55 g·kg-1)group,medium dose(DH-M,9.1 g·kg-1)group and high dose(DH-H,18.2 g·kg-1)group of Rehman-nia.Except for the control group,BLM(5 mg·kg-1)was instilled into the trachea to establish the model of pulmonary fibrosis in the other groups.The survival rate,lung index and blood oxygen saturation of mice in each group were evaluated.HE and Masson staining were used to observe the pathological changes of lung tissue.WBP was used to detect lung function.Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis of primary lung cells,ROS and immune cells.ELISA was used to detect the levels of fibrosis markers and inflammatory factors(α-SMA,collagen Ⅰ,collagen Ⅲ,TGF-β1,TNF-α,IL-1 β,and IL-6).Biochemical method was employed to detect the contents of GSH-Px,T-SOD and MDA.Liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer(LC-MS)metabolomics was used to analyze the changes of serum metabolic profile.Results Water extract of Re-hmannia significantly increased the survival rate,oxy-gen saturation and lung function of mice with pulmona-ry fibrosis,reduced the lung coefficient,ameliorated pathological damage and collagen deposition in lung tissue,reduced the levels of apoptosis and oxidative stress,and down-regulated the levels of inflammatory factors in lung tissue.It regulated the levels of metabo-lites such as bile acid metabolism,sphingolipid metabo-lism,and unsaturated fatty acid metabolism.Conclu-sions Water extract of Rehmannia inhibits lung injury and collagen deposition in mice with pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting inflammatory response,which may be a-chieved by regulating the levels of inflammatory factors through the metabolic pathways of bile acid and sphin-golipid.
5.Laboratory study for an outbreak of foodborne diseases caused by Salmonella Java
Yuwei LIU ; Wei DING ; Shuang ZHANG ; Yu ZHAO ; Shoufei LI ; Aixia YAN ; Ying LI ; Bo PANG ; Xuerong SUN ; Zhenpeng LI
Chinese Journal of Zoonoses 2025;41(9):960-966
The aim of this study was to identify the Salmonella strains isolated from an outbreak of foodborne illness in a seafood buffet restaurant and analyze their pathogenic characteristics.Epidemiological data,fecal samples from patients and chefs,and food/environmental samples from the restaurant were analyzed.Research methods included bacterial culture,serotyping,quadruple fluo-rescence PCR identification,whole-genome sequencing and antibiotic susceptibility testing.The results showed that 4 S.Java strains(serotype 1,4,12∶b∶1,2;ST42)were isolated from two outbreak cases and two sporadic cases.All isolates exhibited similar genomic features,harboring 9 virulence islands and 98 virulence genes.Antimicrobial resistance profiling revealed streptomycin monoresis-tance,mediated by aac(6′)-Iy and aac(6′)-Iaa genes.In conclusion,this event was the first reported outbreak of foodborne illness caused by S.Java in China,indicating that S.Java may be prevalent in the surveyed district.The catering industry should optimize food handling and processing procedures and enhance the surveillance of high risk pathogens.Meanwhile,further studies should ad-dress differential diagnosis and pathogenic mechanism differences between S.Java and S.paratyphi B,which will facilitate evidence-based monitoring in China.
6.Sodium lactate modulates TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway for treatment of right heart failure
Zhong-jian ZHANG ; Xiao-ying LUO ; Di QU ; Chun-liu QIAN ; Ting ZENG ; Zhi-ling HE ; Jia-jie LIAO ; Shuang LI
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(10):1843-1849
Aim To investigate the effects of sodium lactate(NALA)on right heart failure induced by monocrotaline(MCT)-induced pulmonary arterial hy-pertension in rats and to reveal the underlying mecha-nisms.Methods Forty male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly allocated into four groups,with ten rats in each group,namely,MCT group,NALA group,and NALA+MCT group;the MCT and NALA+MCT groups were administered a single intraperito-neal injection of MCT at 60 mg·kg-1 to induce pul-monary hypertension,and one week later,the NALA and NALA+MCT groups received intraperitoneal in-jections of NALA at 0.1 g·kg-1(once a day,for 5 weeks),while the CON and MCT groups received e-qual volumes of physiological saline(once a day,for 5 weeks);right heart function was assessed using echo-cardiography,right ventricular and pulmonary artery remodeling were evaluated via histopathological sec-tions,and the expression levels of ANP,BNP,and in-flammatory factors were measured by ELISA,along with assessments of oxidative stress levels,Western blot detection of the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.Results Compared to the CON group,the MCT group exhibited increased RVSP and RVHI,decreased right heart function,in-creased collagen fiber deposition,and elevated oxida-tive stress and inflammatory factor expression,and the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signa-ling pathway increased(P<0.05);compared to the MCT group,the NALA+MCT group showed reduced RVSP and RVHI,improved right heart function,atten-uated pulmonary vascular remodeling,decreased ex-pression of ANP,BNP,inflammatory factors,and H2O2,along with increased antioxidant enzyme expres-sion,and the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway decreased(P<0.05).Conclusion NALA can inhibit right ventric-ular remodeling in rats with pulmonary hypertension,and the underlying mechanism may involve the allevia-tion of inflammatory responses and oxidative stress through the inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.
7.Protective mechanism of salidroside on retinal ganglion cells in diabetic rats
Shuang XING ; Wei ZHAO ; Li LIU ; Ying GUO ; Shuo GUO
Journal of Regional Anatomy and Operative Surgery 2025;34(8):675-679
Objective To explore the protective effect of salidroside on retinal ganglion cells(RGC)in diabetic rats and its possible molecular mechanism.Methods Forty-five male SD rats were selected and randomly divided into the control group,the model group and the salidroside group,with 15 rats in each group.Diabetes models of rats were established in both the model group and the salidroside group.After successful modeling,rats in the salidroside group were given 50 mg/kg salidroside by gavage daily for 12 consecutive weeks,while rats in the model group received no further treatment.Rats in the control group were given the same amount of normal saline by gavage for 12 consecutive weeks.The fasting blood glucose of rats was detected every 4 weeks.After the experiment,the survival rate of rats in each group was calculated.Pathological HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of retinal tissue in rats,and RGC counting was performed.The contents of reactive oxygen species(ROS),superoxide dismutase(SOD),malondialdehyde(MAD)and catalase(CAT)in the retinal tissue of rats were detected by ELISA.Western blot was used to detect the expressions of heme oxygenase-1(HO-1),Kelch-like ECH associated protein 1(Keap1),and nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2)in the KEAP1-NrF2/HO-1 pathway.Results There was no statistically significant difference in the survival rate among the three groups of rats(P>0.05).The fasting blood glucose levels of rats in the control group fluctuated within the normal range at each time point.The fasting blood glucose levels of rats in the model group and the salidroside group were consistently higher than those in the control group(P<0.05).The fasting blood glucose level of rats in the salidroside group gradually decreased over time(P<0.05).Compared with the control group,the retinal thickness of rats in the model group became thinner,the cell arrangement showed obvious disordered phenomena,and there was obvious edema in the inner and outer nuclear layers and vacuole phenomena.The pathological changes of retinal tissue of rats in the salidroside group were improved compared with those in the model group.Compared with the control group,the contents of ROS and MAD and the protein expressions of Keap1 and Nrf2 in the retinal tissues of rats in the model group were significantly higher(P<0.05),while the contents of CAT and SOD,the number of RGC and the protein expression of HO-1 were significantly lower/less(P<0.05).After intervention with salidroside,the contents of each oxidative stress factor,the number of RGC,and the protein expressions of Keap1 and HO-1 of rats in the salidroside group were significantly reversed compared with the model group(P<0.05).Conclusion Intervention with salidroside can alleviate the oxidative stress response in the retina of diabetic rats and relieve RGC injury,which may exert its effect through the Keap1-Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.
8.Isolation,identification and genome-wide analysis of a strain of Klebsiella pneu-moniae type ST-4263 from Kole pigs
Guixian ZHOU ; Shihui WU ; Minle WANG ; Yixiao LIAO ; Shuang LI ; Zemin YANG ; Ming WEN ; Simei XIAN ; Ying YANG
Chinese Journal of Veterinary Science 2025;45(8):1679-1687,1695
The 16S rRNA sequencing,whole genome sequencing and drug sensitivity tests were used to identify the isolates molecularly and to detect and analyse their virulence genes,resistance genes and drug resistance.The results showed that the isolate was highly homologous to Klebsiella pneumoniae X4 and located on the same branch by 16S rRNA sequence analysis,and it was named as KLKp10.Whole genome sequencing results showed that the KLKp10 genome was 5 342 841 bp in length,containing 5 138 genes,346 repetitive segments,6 rRNAs and 81 tRNAs,with a GC con-tent of 57.30%.MLST analysis showed that KLKp10 belongs to the ST-4263 type.The functions of 4 097 of the genes encoding proteins were classified and annotated by COG,and there were also 382 genes with unknown functions.A total of 50 functional classifications were involved in the an-notation results based on the GO database;33 kinds of signaling pathways were covered based on the signaling pathway annotations in the KEGG database.A total of 443 virulence genes were screened in the VFDB database,of which 339 belonged to the Set A database and could encode 124 virulence factors.The 101 resistance genes were predicted by comparing with the CARD database,among which there were more resistance genes against β-lactam antibiotics.The results of drug sensitivity test showed that KLKp10 was highly sensitive to ceftazidime,gentamicin,azithro-mycin,chloramphenicol,norfloxacin,ofloxacin,and enrofloxacin;moderately sensitive to ceftriax-one,neomycin,kanamycin,and streptomycin;and resistant to ciprofloxacin,tetracycline,amoxicil-lin,and penicillin.In this study,we systematically revealed the gene-wide characterization,virulence factors and drug resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae KLKp10 of Kole pig origin,which provides important data support for the study of Klebsiella pneumoniae at the overall level of its genome.
9.Construction and application effect of decision aid scheme for surgical methods of thyroid cancer patients
Xiao-na YAN ; Yin-huan WANG ; Dan LI ; Dan XIONG ; Ying YANG ; Shuang SONG
Journal of Regional Anatomy and Operative Surgery 2025;34(7):626-629
Objective To construct a decision aid scheme for surgical methods of thyroid cancer patients and explore its application effect.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 692 patients with thyroid cancer who were treated in the department of breast and thyroid surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from January 1 to December 31,2022,patients who underwent surgery from January 1 to June 30,2022 were selected as the control group(n=346),while patients who underwent surgery from July 1 to December 31,2022 were selected as the observation group(n=346).Patients in the control group chose surgical methods after conventional education,while patients in the observation group chose the surgical methods through the decision aid scheme.The decision conflict and decision-making at admission and 1 day before surgery of patients in the two groups were assessed.The psychological state at admission,1 day before surgery,and 1 month after surgery of patients in the two groups were evaluated.The decision satisfaction of patients in the two groups were assessed 1,3,and 6 months after surgery.Results There was no significant difference in the decision conflict score,decision making score or anxiety and depression scores at admission of patients between the two groups(P>0.05).One day before surgery,the decision conflict score of patients in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group(t=21.099,P<0.001),and the decision-making score was significantly higher than that in the control group(t=8.806,P<0.001).The anxiety and depression scores of patients in the two groups decreased over time,among which the anxiety and depression scores 1 day before surgery and 1 month after surgery of patients in the observation group were lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).The decision satisfaction scores 1,3 and 6 months after surgery of patients in the observation group were higher than those in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion The implementation of decision aid scheme can effectively reduce decision conflicts of patients with thyroid cancer regarding the choice of surgical methods,relieve negative emotions,and enhance decision satisfaction.
10.Brain removal through a fenestration on the external occipital protuberance
Tao YANG ; Zhi-hao WU ; Bing-zhi LIU ; Shuang-fei YU ; Hui-ting LAN ; Zhuan GAO ; Yu-ying LANG ; Jing LI
Journal of Regional Anatomy and Operative Surgery 2025;34(2):166-167
Objective A new occipital bone removal technology was applied to improve the success rate of brain removal.Methods The skull was sawed based on the traditional brain removal technology,and part of the occipital bone was removed downward centered in external occipital protuberance to the foramen magnum,then exposed the telencephalon,cerebellum and posterior medulla oblongata.After that,removed the tentorium cerebelli and cut down the medulla oblongata and the related cranial nerves at the skull base,then removed the brain tissues.Results The removed brain tissues had structurally intact telencephalon,cerebellum and brain stem,clear vessels in the cerebral sulci,and relatively intact optic chiasm,olfactory tracts and vertebro-basilar arteries.Conclusion Brain removal through a fenestration on the external occipital protuberance can effectively preserve the integrity of brain specimens,and improve the success rate of brain removal,which is of great significance for central nervous system teaching and improvement of human brain tissue repositories.

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