Expression of STAT6 and NF-κB p65 in the colon mucosa ofpatients with ulcerative colitis

The expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6(STAT6)and nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB)in the colonic mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis(UC)was examined.Real-time polymer-ase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of STAT6 and NF-κB p65 at both mRNA and protein levels in the colonic mucosa of patients with UC and healthy volunteers.The results showed that the expression levels of STAT6 and NFκB p65 in the colonic mucosa of patients with UC were significantly higher than in normal controls at both mRNA and protein levels.These data suggest that STAT6 and NFκB p65 perhaps play an important role in the pathogenesis of UC and underscore the potential value of anti-UC strategies in the clinical management of this disease.

Effect of compound Sophorae Flavescentis Jiechangrongcapsule on expression of NF-κB p65 and STAT6 in theintestinal mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis

The effects of compound Sophorae Flavescen-tis Jiechangrong capsule(CSFJC)on the expression of nuclear factor-κB p65(NF-κB p65)and signal transducer and activator of transcription 6(STAT6)in the intestinal mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis and the possible mechanism were investigated.Eighteen patients with ulcerative colitis were randomly divided into a traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)group(n=11)treated by CSFJC and a western medicine(WM)group(n=7)treated by Sulfasalazine tablets.The treatment duration lasted eight weeks.Before and after the treatment,the symptoms and the physical signs were observed,and the routine stool test,the colonoscopy,and pathological examination were performed in the two groups.The expression levels of NF-κB p65 and STAT6 were detected by using immuno-histochemistry.The results showed that the total effective rate of the curative effectiveness in TCM and WM groups was 100%and 71.4%,respectively,and the total effective rate of colonic mucosa lesion in TCM and WM groups was 90.9%and 71.4%,respectively,with the differences being significant(all P<0.05).The total effective rate of syndromes of damp-heat blocking according to the TCM in TCM and WM groups was 90.9%and 71.4%,respectively.After the treatment,the expression of NF-κB p65 and STAT6 in the two groups was decreased,and the decrease of NF-κB p65 and STAT6 expression in TCM group was more significant than in WM group(P<0.05).It was concluded that CSFJC can inhibit the activation and expression of NF-κB p65 and STAT6 in the intestinal mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis,which is a possible mechanism for CSFJC treating ulcerative colitis.

Inhibitory effect of Gardenblue blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade) anthocyanin extracts on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated inflammatory response in RAW 264.7 cells

Blueberries are a rich source of anthocyanins, which are associated with health benefits contributing to a reduced risk for many diseases. The present study identified the functional Gardenblue blueberry （Vaccinium ashei Reade） anthocyanin extracts （GBBAEs） and evaluated their capacity and underlying mechanisms in protecting murine RAW 264.7 cells from lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-stimulated inflammation in vitro. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） kit results showed that GBBAEs significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide （NO）, prostaglandin E2 （PGE2）, interleukin-6 （IL-6）, IL-113, and interferon-y （INF-y）. Real-time polymerase chain reaction （PCR） analysis in- dicated that the mRNA expression levels of IL-6, IL-113, tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 （MCP-1）, and cyclooxygenase 2 （COX-2） were suppressed in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Additionally, Western blot analysis was used to evaluate the relative protein expression levels of COX-2 and nuclear factor-κB p65 （NF-κBp65）. All these results suggested the potential use of GBBAEs as a functional food for the treatment of in- flammatory diseases.