Published in Frontiers in Zoology
BackgroundThe gut is the major organ for nutrient absorption and immune response in the body of animals. Although effects of fasting on the gut functions have been extensively studied in model animals (e.g. mice), little is known about the response of the gut to fasting in a natural condition (e.g. hibernation). During hibernation, animals endure t...
Published in BMC Microbiology
BackgroundThe intestinal tract undergoes a period of cellular maturation during early life, primarily characterized by the organization of epithelial cells into specialized crypt and villus structures. These processes are in part mediated by the acquisition of microbes. Infants delivered at term typically harbor a stable, low diversity microbiota c...
Published in Parasites & Vectors
BackgroundEchinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) is an intestinal trematode, which has been extensively used to investigate the factors that determine the rejection of intestinal helminths. In this sense, several studies have shown that IL-25 is critical for the development of resistance against E. caproni in mice. In fact, treatment of ...
Published in Cell Regeneration
The stomach and intestine are important organs for food digestion, nutrient absorption, immune protection and hormone production. Gastrointestinal diseases such as cancer and ulcer are big threats to human health. Appropriate disease models are in sore need for mechanistic understanding and drug discovery. Organoids are three-dimensional in vitro c...
Tryptophan hydroxylase 1 gene (TPH1) encodes a rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of the monoamine neurotransmitter serotonin. TPH1 is expressed in peripheral tissues such as the heart, lung, kidney, duodenum and adrenal gland, as well as in female reproductive tissues. The mutations in this gene have been associated with various diseases wit...
The incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is increasing in both Western and developing countries. IBD are multifactorial disorders involving complex interactions between genetic, immune, and environmental factors such as exposure to food contaminants. Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most prevalent mycotoxin that contaminates staple food and in...
Published in Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular and cell biology of lipids
Except for epidermis and liver, little is known about endogenous expression of 1-O-acylceramides (1-OACs) in mammalian tissue. Therefore, we screened several organs (brain, lung, liver, spleen, lymph nodes, heart, kidney, thymus, small intestine, and colon) from mice for the presence of 1-OACs by LC-MS2. In most organs, low levels of about 0.25-1.3...
Published in Translational Neurodegeneration
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, and no disease-modifying treatments are available to halt or slow its progression. Amyloid-beta (Aβ) is suggested to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD, and clearance of Aβ from the brain becomes a main therapeutic strategy for AD. Recent studies found that Aβ clearance in the...
Published in Cell & Bioscience
BackgroundThyroid hormone (T3) plays an important role in vertebrate development. Compared to the postembryonic development of uterus-enclosed mammalian embryos, T3-dependent amphibian metamorphosis is advantageous for studying the function of T3 and T3 receptors (TRs) during vertebrate development. The effects of T3 on the metamorphosis of anurans...
Intestinal epithelial homeostasis is regulated by a complex network of signaling pathways. Among them is es-trogen signaling, important for the proliferation and differentiation of epithelial cells, immune signaling andmetabolism. The mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEN) is an estrogen disruptor naturally found in food and feed. Theexposure of the intestine...
