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©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Intervention effects and related mechanisms of glycyrrhizic acid on zebrafish with Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis
Ming-Kun Liu, Ying-Jian Chen, Fei Chen, Zhi-Xiong Lin, Zi-Cheng Zhu, Yu Lin, Yi-Fan Fang, Dian-Ming Wu
Ming-Kun Liu, Fei Chen, Yu Lin, Yi-Fan Fang, Dian-Ming Wu, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
Ming-Kun Liu, Fei Chen, Yu Lin, Yi-Fan Fang, Dian-Ming Wu, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Fujian Children’s Hospital (Fujian Branch of Shanghai Children’s Medical Center), College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350000, Fujian Province, China
Ying-Jian Chen, Zhi-Xiong Lin, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Fujian Children’s Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
Zi-Cheng Zhu, Department of Clinical Medicine, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
Author contributions: Liu MK was responsible for data collection and analysis and wrote the paper; Liu MK and Chen YJ contributed equally to this article; Chen F and Lin Y contributed to the data analysis; Lin ZX and Zhu ZC completed the basic experiment; Wu DM and Fang YF designed the research and provided clinical advice; and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Joint Funds for the Innovation of Science and Technology, Fujian Province, No. 2020Y9139; and Startup Fund for Scientific Research, Fujian Medical University, No. 2019QH1141.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All animal experiments conformed to the principles for the care and use of laboratory animals. The experimental scheme was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The experimental data related to this study can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Dian-Ming Wu, BM BCh, Chief Physician, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, No. 18 Daoshan Road, Gulou District, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China. wdm2369@126.com
Received: March 14, 2023
Peer-review started: March 14, 2023
First decision: April 7, 2023
Revised: April 24, 2023
Accepted: May 11, 2023
Article in press: May 11, 2023
Published online: July 27, 2023
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Hirschsprung’s disease (HD)-associated enterocolitis (HAEC) is the most common and serious complication of HD. The intestinal structure of zebrafish is similar to that of humans. The zebrafish model can effectively fill the gap between in vitro and mammalian experiments, and improve the existing drug research and development process.
Research motivation
At present, the pathogenesis of HAEC is not clear. Therefore, clarifying the pathogenic mechanism or characteristic pathogenic pathway of HAEC and blocking the vicious cycle of the pathogenic pathway may be an effective way to prevent and treat HAEC.
Research objectives
This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect and possible mechanism of action of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) on HAEC, and provide an important theoretical and experimental basis for the prevention and treatment of HAEC.
Research methods
In this study, fish fry at 3 d post-fertilization (dpf) were treated with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS), and 8 dpf enteritis model fish were obtained after 5 d of continuous treatment between 8 and 11 dpf, and changed daily for 3 d. To analyze the effect of GA on the phenotype and inflammatory status of zebrafish, zebrafish can be divided into normal phenotype and intestinal enlargement phenotype according to malformation.
Research results
In zebrafish, the intestinal luminal area of TNBS-treated zebrafish was increased compared with that of TNBS-untreated zebrafish. Although TNBS increased the number of goblet cells in the intestinal lumen and promoted intestinal inflammation, TNBS treatment did not decrease the survival rate of zebrafish. After GA treatment, the intestinal luminal area, number of goblet cells in the intestinal lumen, and levels of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-8 were significantly changed.
Research conclusions
TNBS was used to construct a zebrafish enteritis model, and different concentrations of GA were used to treat enteritis. In the analysis of the effects of GA on the phenotype and inflammatory state of zebrafish, different concentrations of GA had protective effects on zebrafish with enteritis.
Research perspectives
The protective effect of GA on zebrafish enteritis was confirmed, but its specific mechanism still needs to be further explored.
