title: Protection of Gastrointestinal Mucosa from Acute Heavy Alcohol Consumption: The Effect of Berberine and Its Correlation with TLR2, 4/IL1β-TNFα Signaling.
abstract: The purpose of the present study is to confirm the protective effect of berberine (BBR) on gastrointestinal injury caused by acute heavy alcohol exposure, an effect that has not been reported previously. Our research details how BBR protects against gastrointestinal injuries from acute alcohol exposure using both in vivo and in vitro experiments. Acute high alcohol concentrations lead to obvious damage to the gastrointestinal mucosa, resulting in necrosis of the intestinal mucosa. Oral administration of BBR was able to significantly reduce this alcohol-induced damage, inhibit increases of alcohol-induced TNFα and IL-1β expression in gastrointestinal mucosa as well as their upstream signals TLR2 and TLR4, and regulate cytokines that modulate tight junctions. Alcohol consumption is a popular human social behavior worldwide, and the present study reports a comprehensive mechanism by which BBR protects against gastrointestinal injuries from alcohol stress, providing people with a novel application of BBR.
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Pei
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, United States of America.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Shuang
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Fei
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, Texas, 77030, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yu-Gang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Jin
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Ming
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Li-Jun
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Du
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D000818:Animals; D001599:Berberine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D018938:Caco-2 Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D057809:HEK293 Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D053583:Interleukin-1beta; C493486:Tlr2 protein, mouse; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D001599:Berberine