Project description:This study tested the hypothesis that a medicinal plant, Vasaka, typically consumed as a tea to treat respiratory malaise, could protect airway epithelial cells (AECs) from wood smoke particle-induced damage and prevent pathological mucus expression. Wood/biomass smoke is a common pneumotoxic air pollutant that activates transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) and causes endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and AEC damage. This stimulates epidermal growth factor receptor and mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) production by AECs. Mucus normally protects the airways, but excessive MUC5AC production can obstruct airflow and cause respiratory distress. Vasaka tea pre- and co-treatment dose-dependently inhibited MUC5AC mRNA induction in cells treated with wood smoke particles. This correlated with TRPA1 inhibition, an attenuation of ER stress, and AEC damage/death, among other effects. Induction of mRNA for Anterior Gradient 2 (AGR2), an ER chaperone/disulfide isomerase required for MUC5AC production, and TRP vanilloid-3 (TRPV3), a gene that suppresses ER stress and wood smoke particle-induced cell death, were also attenuated. Variable inhibition of TRPA1, ER stress, and MUC5AC mRNA induction was observed using selected chemicals identified in Vasaka tea including vasicine, vasicinone, apigenin, 9-oxoODE, and 9,10-EpOME. 9,10-EpOME and apigenin were the most cytoprotective and mucosuppressive. Cytochrome P450 1A1 mRNA was also induced by Vasaka tea and wood smoke particles. Inhibition of CYP1A1 enhanced ER stress and MUC5AC mRNA expression, suggesting a role in producing protective oxylipins in stressed cells. The results provide mechanistic insights and support for the purported benefits of Vasaka tea in treating lung inflammatory conditions, raising the possibility of further development as a preventative therapy.
Project description:Metabolic disorders, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, are major public health concerns worldwide. Dietary interventions, such as tea consumption, have been suggested as an effective strategy to prevent and treat metabolic disorders. White adipose tissue, as the main energy storage organ in mammals, plays a critical role in the regulation of whole-body metabolism. Recent studies have shown that the microenvironmental cell composition and metabolic network of white adipose tissue can be modulated by dietary factors, including tea consumption. However, the underlying mechanisms and the effects of tea consumption on white adipose tissue in the context of high-fat diet-induced metabolic disorders are not fully understood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of tea consumption on the microenvironmental cell composition and metabolic network of white adipose tissue in high-fat diet-fed mice.
Project description:Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) is an important non-alcoholic commercial beverage crop. Tea tree is a perennial plant, and winter dormancy is its part of biological adaptation to environmental changes. We recently discovered a novel tea tree cultivar that can generate tender shoots in winter, but the regulatory mechanism of this ever-growing tender shoot development in winter is not clear. In this study, we conducted a proteomic analysis for identification of key genes and proteins differentially expressed between the winter and spring tender shoots, to explore the putative regulatory mechanisms and physiological basis of its ever-growing character during winter.
Project description:The effects of increasing addition of green tea in dietary changes the bacterial populations in broiler ileum were evaluated. Four hundreds of AA broilers were randomly assigned to four groups with green tea addition of 0, 0.5, 1 and 2 percent in the diet. The body weight showed no difference but a digital increase positively correlated with addition of green tea. The content of green tea had a linear effect of lengthening the ileum villi. The barcoded DNA pyrosequencing method was used to reveal 15 phyla, 1157phylotypes and 3098 16S operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The most predominant bacterial phyla were Firmicutes (56.89%), Actinobacteria (30.58%), Proteobacteria (8.61%) and Bacteroidetes (2.72%). As the proportion of additional green tea increased, the abundance of phylum Actinobacteria (p=0.003) and Proteobacteria (p=0.049) almost linearly increased, while the proportion of Firmicutes (p=0.027) linearly decreased. Only 2 OTUs were significantly affected by the increased additive, Corynebacteriaceae (p=0.011) and Staphylococcaceae (p= 0.006). Triplot analysis suggested that the dominant phyla of Verrucomicrobia, TM7 and Actinobacteria were clearly related to the addition of green tea. Moreover, green tea addition influenced the construction of microbiota, and lengthened the villus in ileum by Monte Carlo permutation test. These findings provide a new understanding of the ileal microbial ecology, which may be useful in modulating the gut microbiome, and also the proper usage of powdered green tea.
Project description:Hawk tea (Litsea coreana var. lanuginose) is a traditional Chinese tea, widely cultivated and consumed in southwestern China. It has been widely used to treat gastrosis, hepatitis, and inflammatory diseases for hundreds of years. Modern pharmacological studies demonstrate that hawk tea has protective effects against liver fibrosis, hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia, and inflammatory diseases . However, the molecular mechanism of hawk tea against hypercholesterolemia remains unclear. The aims of this study were to investigate the mechanisms of hawk tea extract (HTE) to lower cholesterol. Therefore, we performed genome-wide transcriptional analysis of hawk tea extracts treated HepG2 cells. Hawk tea extracts (HTE) induced significant gene modulation on HepG2 cells.
Project description:Hawk tea (Litsea coreana var. lanuginose) is a traditional Chinese tea, widely cultivated and consumed in southwestern China. It has been widely used to treat gastrosis, hepatitis, and inflammatory diseases for hundreds of years. Modern pharmacological studies demonstrate that hawk tea has protective effects against liver fibrosis, hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia, and inflammatory diseases . However, the molecular mechanism of hawk tea against hypercholesterolemia remains unclear. The aims of this study were to investigate the mechanisms of hawk tea extract (HTE) to lower cholesterol. Therefore, we performed genome-wide transcriptional analysis of hawk tea extracts treated HepG2 cells.