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Fullerene nanoparticles for the treatment of ulcerative colitis

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Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term, recurrent inflammatory bowel disease for which no effective cure is yet available in the clinical setting. Repairing the barrier dysfunction of the colon and reducing intestinal inflammation are considered key objectives to cure UC. Here we demonstrate a novel therapeutic strategy based on a C60 fullerene suspension (C60FS) to treat dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced UC in an animal model. C60FS can repair the barrier dysfunction of UC and effectively promote the healing of ulcers; it also manifests better treatment effects compared with mesalazine enema. C60FS can reduce the numbers of basophils in the blood of UC rats and mast cells in the colorectal tissue, thereby effectively alleviating inflammation. The expression of H1R, H4R, and VEGFR2 receptors in colorectal tissues is inhibited by C60FS, and the levels of histamine and prostaglandin in the rat blood are reduced. This work presents a reliable strategy based on fullerene to cure UC and provides a novel guide for UC treatment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51832008, 51772300, and 52072374). We thank Beijing FULLCAN Biotechnology Co., Ltd. for providing valuable suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Xiaodan Liao, Zhongpu Zhao, Bo Wu, Jiawei Huo, Lei Li, Xue Li, Xinran Cao, Chunru Wang & Chunli Bai

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xiaodan Liao, Zhongpu Zhao, Jiawei Huo, Lei Li & Xinran Cao

  3. Beijing FULLCAN Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100190, China

    Hui Li & Min Xia

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  1. Xiaodan Liao
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  2. Zhongpu Zhao
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  3. Hui Li
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  4. Bo Wu
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  9. Min Xia
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Correspondence to Hui Li, Chunru Wang or Chunli Bai.

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Liao, X., Zhao, Z., Li, H. et al. Fullerene nanoparticles for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Sci. China Life Sci. 65, 1146–1156 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-021-2001-0

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