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REVIEW article

Front. Med.
Sec. Gastroenterology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1502849
This article is part of the Research Topic Recent Advances and New Biomarkers in Ulcerative Colitis - Volume II View all 4 articles

T helper cell 17/regulatory T cell balance regulates ulcerative colitis and the therapeutic role of natural plant components: a review

Provisionally accepted
Da Zhao Da Zhao 1Anqi Ge Anqi Ge 1Kailin Yang Kailin Yang 1Cong Yan Cong Yan 1Xingci Liu Xingci Liu 1Yexing Yan Yexing Yan 2Moujia Hao Moujia Hao 2Junpeng Chen Junpeng Chen 3Pawan Daga Pawan Daga 4Charles C Dai Charles C Dai 5Changping Li Changping Li 6Hui Cao Hui Cao 1*
  • 1 The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
  • 2 Daqing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Daqing, China
  • 3 School of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, United States
  • 4 University of Louisville, Louisville, Colorado, United States
  • 5 School of Dentistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
  • 6 Fuyao University of Science and Technology, Fuzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disease characterized by progressive mucosal damage. The incidence rate of UC is rising rapidly, which makes the burden of medical resources aggravated. In UC, due to various pathogenic factors such as mucosal immune system disorders, gene mutations and environmental factors disrupting the mucosal barrier function, the midgut pathogenic bacteria and exogenous antigens translocate into the lamina propria, thereby aggravating the inflammatory response and further damages the mucosal barrier. During the progression of UC, Th17 populations that cause inflammation generally increase, while Tregs that suppress Th17 activity decrease. Among them, Th17 mediates immune response, Treg mediates immunosuppression, and the coordinated balance of the two plays a key role in the inflammation and immune process of UC. Natural plant components can regulate biological processes such as immune inflammation from multiple levels of proinflammatory cytokines and signaling pathways. These characteristics have unique advantages and broad prospects in the treatment of UC. In immunomodulation, there is substantial clinical and experimental evidence for the modulatory role of natural plant products in restoring balance between Th17/Treg disturbances in UC. This review summarizes the previous studies on the regulation of Th17/Treg balance in UC by natural plant active ingredients, extracts, and traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, and provides new evidence for the development and design of lead compounds and natural new drugs for the regulation of Th17 / Treg balance in the future, and then provides ideas and evidence for future clinical intervention in the treatment of UC immune disorders and clinical trials.

    Keywords: Th17/Treg balance, ulcerative colitis, immune inflammation, Natural plant components, inflammatory disease

    Received: 27 Sep 2024; Accepted: 23 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhao, Ge, Yang, Yan, Liu, Yan, Hao, Chen, Daga, Dai, Li and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hui Cao, The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.