The Extracts of Morinda officinalis and Its Hairy Roots Attenuate Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Chronic Ulcerative Colitis in Mice by Regulating Inflammation and Lymphocyte Apoptosis.

Xiaoping Lai,Qingping Xiong,Huan Lin,Lian Zhou,Jiwang Liang,Peng Wang,Yanfang Wu,Xiaoli Jiang,Ping Ding,Shaozhen Hou,Hairong Hao,Shamyuen Chan,Qian Li,Chaodi Fu,Huazhen Liu,Jian Liang

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00905

Abstract

Morinda officinalis is beneficial for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The hairy root with higher genetic and biochemical stability cultured from M. officinalis might have similar effects to treat IBD. In this study, the main chemical composition of the root extracts of M. officinalis (MORE) native plant and the hairy root extract of M. officinalis (MOHRE) was compared by quantitative HPLC. The difference of their therapeutic effects and potential mechanism was evaluated using 3% dextran sodium sulfate-induced chronic colitis in mice and T lymphocytes in vitro. The results found that MOHRE possesses many specific peaks unobserved in the chromatogram of native plant. The content of iridoids in the MORE (3.10%) and MOHRE (3.01%) is somewhat similar but quite different for their anthraquinones’s content (0.14 and 0.66%, respectively). Despite all this, treatment with both MORE and MOHRE significantly attenuated the symptoms of colitis, including diarrhea, body weight loss, colon shortening, histological damage, and decreased inflammatory cytokine levels. In addition, they dose-dependently increased the apoptosis of T lymphocyte in vivo and in vitro. And, the differences for treatment effects on ulcerative colitis (UC) between them both in this study were mostly insignificant. The results demonstrated that the effects of MORE and MOHRE for the treatment of UC are similar, although there are a few difference on their chemical composition, indicating the hairy root cultured from M. officinalis might be able to replace its native plant on treatment of UC. The successful derivation of a sustainable hairy root culture provides a model system to study the synthetic pathways for bioactive metabolites, which will make the use of bioreactors to largely produce traditional medicine become reality.

Highlights

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is characterized by chronic and repeated episodes enteropatia [1]
Our results showed that M. officinalis and its hairy roots could protect against dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced chronic colitis and inhibit abnormal activation of T cells via inducing apoptosis in vivo and in vitro
It has been reported that monotropein, the main iridoid in M. officinalis, has therapeutic effect on DSS-induced acute colitis mice with a dose up to 200 mg/kg [15], which is much higher than the dose of MORE and MOHRE we used in our study

Summary

Introduction

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is characterized by chronic and repeated episodes enteropatia [1]. The aggressive behavior of the intestinal immune system can cause immune dysfunction, leading to the infiltration of inflammatory cells and production of a large number of proinflammatory cytokines [4], such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-17 (IL-17). These proinflammatory cytokines can cause intestinal damage and further aggravate the condition of UC [5]. Complementary therapies seem to have many advantages, such as lower toxicity, more safety and effectiveness, which have absorbed an increasing number of patients who want to try and use this method to treat IBD [9]. As a kind of complementary therapies, contain various active components in their extracts that could show therapeutic effects on multiple targets of the body [10]

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Discussion

Conclusion