Project description:Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) presents a significant challenge in women’s health due to its aggressive phenotype and the absence of targeted therapeutic options. β-Elemene, a sesquiterpene isolated from Curcuma wenyujin, has demonstrated clinical benefits against TNBC; however, its mechanisms of action, particularly with respect to the immune and metabolic tumor microenvironment, remain poorly characterized. In this study, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics to investigate how β-elemene reshapes the cellular and metabolic landscape of TNBC using a 4T1 orthotopic mouse model. Our findings are expected to provide the first comprehensive elucidation of β-elemene’s dual immunomodulatory and metabolic effects in TNBC, highlighting the potential of natural compounds to enhance antitumor immunity.
Project description:Many previous studies had revealed that gastrointestinal microbiome is changed compositionally and ecologically in patients with colorectal cancer comparing with healthy population. These finding provide us with a new sight to take advantage of gut microbiota. The current study aims to explore new potential biomarkers for early screening and prognostic prediction of colorectal cancer and colorectal polyps by analyzing metagenomics and metabolomics of gut microbiota.
Project description:Urolithins are a class of bioactive metabolites derived from the metabolism of dietary ellagitannins by the human gut microbiota. In the gut, urolithins are dehydroxylated regioselectively based on microbiota composition and activity. A single 9-hydroxy urolithin dehydroxylase (ucd) operon in gut resident Enterocloster species has been described to date; however, most enzymes in the urolithin metabolic pathway remain uncharacterized. Here, we investigate urolithin cross-feeding between members of the gut microbiota and discover a novel urolithin dehydroxylase in a subset of Enterocloster species. We show that urolithin intermediates, released by gut resident Gordonibacter species during ellagic acid metabolism, are dehydroxylated at both the 9- and 10-positions by E. asparagiformis, E. citroniae, and E. pacaense, but not E. bolteae. Using untargeted proteomics, we uncover a 10-hydroxy urolithin dehydroxylase operon, termed uxd, responsible for these species-specific differences in urolithin metabolism. By inducing uxd expression with diverse urolithins, we show that 9-hydroxy urolithins are required for uxd transcription and 10-position dehydroxylation. Collectively, this study reveals some of the genes, proteins, and substrate features underlying differences in urolithin metabolism by the human gut microbiota.
Project description:By fermenting dietary fiber, the gut microbiota supplies carbon to host epithelial cells in the form of short-chain fatty acids and other metabolic byproducts. To track the transfer of carbon from fiber to host tissues via the microbiota and more clearly define the molecules mediating this transfer, we conducted stable isotope tracing in mice with U-13C-labeled inulin followed by untargeted metabolomics by LC-MS. Additionally, we applied this labeling approach to mice with chemically induced colitis to examine how inflammation impacts carbon transfer from the microbiota to host tissues, which may aid in understanding the development of inflammatory bowel diseases.