Yongguo Cao

• DVM PhD
• Professor at Jilin University

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging worldwide zoonotic disease. Infected patients and animals often exhibit intestinal symptoms. Mounting evidence suggests that host immune responses to bacterial infection are closely associated with intestinal homeostasis. Our previous research has shown that the gut microbiota can protect the host from acute leptospir...

Leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. Humans and some mammals can develop severe forms of leptospirosis accompanied by a dysregulated inflammatory response, which often results in death. The gut microbiota has been increasingly recognized as a vital element in systemic health. However, the precise role...

Leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. Humans and some mammals can develop severe forms of leptospirosis accompanied by a dysregulated inflammatory response, which often results in death. The gut microbiota has been increasingly recognized as a vital element in systemic health. However, the precise role...

Leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. Humans and some mammals can develop severe forms of leptospirosis accompanied by a dysregulated inflammatory response, which often results in death. The gut microbiota has been increasingly recognized as a vital element in systemic health. However, the precise role...

Leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. Humans and some mammals can develop severe forms of leptospirosis accompanied by a dysregulated inflammatory response, which often results in death. The gut microbiota has been increasingly recognized as a vital element in systemic health. However, the precise role...

Leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. Humans and some mammals can develop severe forms of leptospirosis accompanied by a dysregulated inflammatory response, which often results in death. The gut microbiota has been increasingly recognized as a vital element in systemic health. However, the precise role...

Arthropod-borne pathogens cause some of the most important human and animal infectious diseases. Many vectors acquire or transmit pathogens through the process of blood feeding. Here, we report adiponectin, the most abundant adipocyte-derived hormone circulating in human blood, directly or indirectly inhibits acquisition of the Lyme disease agent,...

Dysbiosis causes continuous progress of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Herein, we aim to explore whether Salidroside (Sal), which is a major glycoside extracted from Rhodiola rosea L., could ameliorate dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis by modulating the microbiota. Results showed that oral treatment with 15 mg kg-1 of Sal inhibited DS...

Leptospirosis is a significant worldwide zoonotic infectious disease that infects a wide range of animals and humans. Leptospira will colonize the animal’s urinary and reproductive systems and be excreted with urine, potentially causing a wide range of infections. Dogs are an essential host for Leptospira, and epidemiological investigation studies...

Obesity is a systemic disease with multisystem inflammation associated with gut dysbiosis. Salidroside (SAL) which is a major glycoside extracted from Rhodiola rosea L. has a wide range of pharmacological effects, but the role of gut microbiota in the protective effects of SAL on obesity has not been studied. Herein, we aim to explore whether SAL c...

Infectious diseases remain a major threat to public health [...]

African swine fever (ASF), a highly contagious, deadly infectious disease, has caused huge economic losses to animal husbandry with a 100% mortality rate of the most acute and acute infection, which is listed as a legally reported animal disease by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the causative age...

Endometritis is a disease with a high incidence in dairy cows and causes great economic loss to milk production. This study examined the therapeutic effects of Clostridium butyricum and its culture supernatant on Escherichia coli-induced endometritis in mice. The results showed that Clostridium butyricum and its culture supernatant effectively supp...

Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic leptospira, is a neglected infectious disease that causes acute kidney injury, bleeding disorders, and even death. People can become infected with leptospirosis when they travel into epidemic areas. Except for vaccines and antibiotics, there are few reports of other drugs about prevention of leptospirosis. In thi...

Antibiotic resistance is the greatest challenge for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection under the global antibiotic resistance crisis. With the bottleneck period of the development of new antibiotics, novel alternative agents are urgently in need. In this study, the small molecule amentoflavone is identified as a dual‐actio...

Leptospirosis is a fatal zoonosis caused by contact between skin or a mucosal surface and contaminated soil or water. Hamsters were infected by intraperitoneal injection fto establish experimental leptospirosis, which is not a natural route of infection. There are no reports of nasal mucosal infection in hamsters. In this study, infection of the na...

Leptospirosis is a globally spread zoonotic disease with outcomes ranging from subclinical infection to fatal Weil syndrome. In addition to antibiotics, some immune activators have shown protective effects against leptospirosis. However, the unclear relationship between Leptospira and cytokines, has limited the development of antileptospiral immuno...

Mastitis is a common and frequently occurring disease of humans and animals, especially in dairy farming, which has caused huge economic losses and brought harmful substance residues, drug-resistant bacteria, and other public health risks. The traditional viewpoint indicates that mastitis is mainly caused by exogenous pathogenic bacteria infecting...

For the first time, wheat bran was fermented with Eurotium cristatum. (E. cristatum), and alterations in the structural and functional characteristics were explored. The results showed that the soluble dietary fibre (SDF) content significantly increased in fermented bran, and the water and oil holding capacities improved. The total polyphenols, ant...

Obesity is a disease in humans and companion animals that can cause many chronic diseases. Eurotium cristatum (E. cristatum) is a dominant fungus in Fuzhuan tea. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possibility that E. cristatum may reduce diet-induced obesity by regulating the gut microbiota and measuring the differences in the gut microbiot...

As a metabolic syndrome, obesity has become a global public health problem. Bacillus licheniformis has been shown to inhibit obesity by regulating the gut microbiota, but the underlying mechanism of its therapeutic effect is still unknown. In this study, the anti-obesity mechanism of Bacillus licheniformis Zhengchangsheng® was investigated by exami...

Adiponectin-mediated pathways contribute to mammalian homeostasis; however, little is known about adiponectin and adiponectin receptor signaling in arthropods. In this study, we demonstrate that Ixodes scapularis ticks have an adiponectin receptor-like protein (ISARL) but lack adiponectin - suggesting activation by alternative pathways. ISARL expre...

Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira, is a global critical zoonotic disease in terms of mortality and morbidity. Vaccines are often used to prevent leptospirosis. However, few studies have reported the therapeutic effect of a vaccine against Leptospira infection. This study demonstrates the efficacy of the emergency vaccine immunization a...

Leptospirosis is a worldwide re-emerging zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira. Inflammatory storms induced by Leptospira are the reason to induce immunoparalysis and organ failures. Antibiotics are still the current mainstream treatment for leptospirosis. In addition to their antibacterial action, the immunomodulatory function of antibiotics ha...

Mastitis, common inflammation of the mammary gland, caused by various factors, is a challenge for the dairy industry. Escherichia coli (E. coli), a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, is one of the major pathogens causing clinical mastitis which is characterized by reduced milk production and recognizable clinical symptoms. Bacillus subtilis (B....

Dioscin is a natural steroid saponin derived from plants of the genus Dioscoreaceae. Previous studies have proved its effects of antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and hypolipidemic. In this study, our aim was to explore the protective effect and preliminary mechanism of Dioscin on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. The results sho...

Adiponectin-mediated pathways contribute to mammalian homeostasis; however, little is known about adiponectin and adiponectin receptor signaling in arthropods. In this study, we demonstrate that Ixodes scapularis ticks have an adiponectin receptor-like protein (ISARL) but lack adiponectin – suggesting activation by alternative pathways. ISARL expre...

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease worldwide. Intestinal bleeding is a common but neglected symptom in severe leptospirosis. The regulatory mechanism of the gut microbiota on leptospirosis is still unclear. In this study, we found that Leptospira interrogans infection changed the composition of the gut microbiota in mice. Weight loss a...

Dengue virus (DENV) is a flavivirus that causes marked human morbidity and mortality worldwide, and is transmitted to humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Habitat expansion of Aedes, mainly due to climate change and increasing overlap between urban and wild habitats, places nearly half of the world’s population at risk for DENV infection. After a bl...

Chronic leptospirosis usually occurs during sublethal doses infection of susceptible animal and reservoir host, which typical symptom is interstitial nephritis, and leptospira urine, contaminating the environment and threatening other susceptible animals and humans. Dipotassium glycyrrhizinate (DG) is a replacement for glycyrrhizic acid, which exhi...

Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira species, is an essential but neglected zoonosis. There are more than 300 serovars of pathogenic Leptospira, while inactivated bacteria offers only short-term serovar-specific protection. Leptospirosis treatment is mainly dependent on the use of antibiotics. However, the side effects of antibiotics and...

Background: Subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is a well-recognized metabolic disease that has negative impact on the animal performance and health. SARA in cows is mainly caused by long-term high-concentration diet (HCD) feeding, however, some cows are so well adapted to the HCD that do not develop such condition while others are more susceptible. W...

Leptospirosis is a global zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira, and those infected animals will show a variety of clinical symptoms and even death. The discovery of endemic strains is crucial to produce effective vaccines. In this study, we report that a strain of Leptospira, isolated from a dog, is pathogenic. Using MLST analysis, the...

Leptospirosis is an important global zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira. It is estimated that more than 1 million people are infected by Leptospira each year, and the death toll is about 60,000. Some studies showed that delayed immune response was associated with severe leptospirosis, and TLR4 was very important in the control of leptospirosi...

Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease, the most common tick-transmitted illness in North America. When Ixodes scapularis feed on an infected vertebrate host, spirochetes enter the tick gut, along with the bloodmeal and colonize the vector. Here we show that a secreted tick protein, I. scapularis protein disulfide isomerase A3 (IsPDIA3), enhances...

Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne illness in North America, is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Infection begins in the skin following a tick bite and can spread to the hearts, joints, nervous system, and other organs. Diverse host responses influence the level of B. burgdorferi infection in mice and humans. Using a systems b...

Dengue virus (DENV) is a flavivirus that causes marked human morbidity and mortality worldwide, being transmitted to humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Habitat expansion of Aedes , mainly due to climate change and increasing overlap between urban and wild habitats, places nearly half of the world’s population at risk for DENV infection. After a bl...

Background: Mastitis, which is a highly prevalent disease in dairy cows and economically costly to the dairy industry worldwide, is commonly believed to be caused by local infection of the mammary gland. Recently, studies have suggested that the gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of cow mastitis, yet the mechanisms linking th...

Background: Laminitis is a classic problem in the dairy industry, which can cause a great economic loss. However, the etiology and pathogenesis of laminitis have yet to be understood. In recent years, the microbiota has been the focus of much investigation in the search for various diseases. The present study aimed to explore the relationship betwe...

Background: Laminitis- an inflammation of lamella, could cause great economic loss to dairy industry, which has attracted wide attention around the world. Although previous researches explored risk factors of laminitis, the exact pathological mechanism of laminitis is still remaining unclear. In recent years, microbiota is considered as one of the...

Mastitis is one of the most prevalent diseases in dairy farming worldwide. The gut microbiota plays an important role in the regulation of systemic and local inflammatory diseases, such as mastitis. However, the regulatory mechanism of the gut microbiota on mastitis is still unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the function and r...

Endometritis, the inflammation of the endometrial lining caused by bacterial pathogens, is associated with reproductive failure. Recent studies have shown that the gut microbiota plays an important role in infectious diseases. However, the roles of the gut microbiota in endometritis remains unclear. Here, we assessed the effects and mechanisms of t...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is often present in groundwater. Chronic Cr(VI) exposure is suggested to be one of the main factors inducing cancer. However, the correlation between Cr(VI) and CRC remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of Cr(VI...

Ethnopharmacological relevance Ping weisan (PWS), a complex formulation used in traditional Chinese medicine, is first described in 1107 AD and published in the Prescriptions of Taiping Benevolent Dispensary. We have previously confirmed that PWS has the effect of alleviating DSS-induced chronic ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice. Aim of the study We...

Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease that causes acute kidney injury, liver disease, bleeding disorders, and even death. Treatment of the disease is largely dependent on the use of antibiotics, but recent studies on pathogenesis of leptospirosis have shown that immunomodulation may also be an effective treatment for this disease. Since the...

Ticks and tick-borne diseases are on the rise world-wide and vaccines to prevent transmission of tick-borne diseases is an urgent public health need. Tick transmission of pathogens to the mammalian host occurs during tick feeding. Therefore, it is reasoned that vaccine targeting of tick proteins essential for feeding would thwart tick feeding and c...

Salidroside (Sal), as a major glycoside extracted from Rhodiola rosea L., has exhibited its mighty anti-aging, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, and neuroprotective effects in many diseases. Recently, it has showed its protective effect in colitis mice by activating the SIRT1/FoxOs pathway. Whereas, it is not known whether Sal has other...

Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira species, has emerged as an important neglected zoonotic disease. Few studies have reported the preventable effects of immunoregulators, except for antibiotics, against leptospirosis. Generally, immunostimulatory agents are considered effective for enhancing innate immune responses. Many studies have fo...

Endometritis is commonly occurred in dairy cows after calving and results in a great deal of property damage. Although numerous studies have been performed to find the therapeutic agents for endometritis, the incidence of this disease remains high. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), the major metabolic products of anaerobic bacteria fermentation in t...

Endometritis is an inflammatory disease of the uterus caused by bacteria infection, and it affects both human and animal health. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects and molecular mechanisms of probiotics Clostridium tyrobutyicum (C. tyrobutyricum) on Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)-induced endometritis. The result showed that S...

Mastitis has been recognized as a common and major disease of cows with a strong impact on dairy farming. Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) has been shown to mediate crucial crosstalk between the immune system and various epithelial tissues, initiating a series of defensive mechanisms against bacterial and fungal infections. This crosstalk is especially inv...

Ripened Pu-erh tea extract contributes to reducing weight gain and fat accumulation; however, it remains unclear about the role of gut microbiota on the anti-obesity effect of ripened Pu-erh tea extract in obese mice. This study aimed to explore the role of alterations in the gut microbes mediated by the ripened Pu-erh tea extract in obese mice thr...

Mastitis, as the main disease to affect the dry dairy cow with the characterized by increasing number of somatic cells in milk and reducing milk production, has been known as one of the most serious expensive disease for the dairy industry. Escherichia coli (E.coli), a gram negative bacterial, have normally been considered to be an opportunistic pa...

Ethnopharmacological relevance Ping weisan (PWS), a famous traditional Chinese medicinal, is published in the Prescriptions of Taiping Benevolent Dispensary. PWS has been proven to be effective for many diseases, especially chronic diseases. Aim of the study The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect and potential mechanism of PWS on...

Evodiamine (EVO), an extraction from the traditional Chinese medicine Evodia rutaecarpa, has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and other pharmacological activities. However, the effectiveness of EVO to relieve dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) has not been evaluated. In this study, the protective effe...

Phloretin, a dihydrogen chalcone flavonoid, is mainly isolated from the apple and strawberries. Phloretin has been proven to have many biological activities such as anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. Here, we investigated the protective efficacy and potential mechanism of phloretin in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in...

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is an important member of the nuclear receptor superfamily. Previous studies have showed the satisfactory anti-inflammatory role of PPARγ in experimental colitis models, mainly through negatively regulating several transcription factors such as nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). Therefore, regulating PPA...

Endometritis, an inflammatory response of the uterus tissue, is characterized by the production of inflammatory cytokines and migration of neutrophil (PMN) into the uterus tissue. Melatonin has been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of melatonin on lip...

Currently, accumulating evidence is challenging subtherapeutic therapy. Low-dose Norfloxacin (Nor) has been reported to suppress the immune response and worsen leptospirosis. In this study, we investigated the influence of low-dose Nor (0.03 μg/ml, 0.06 μg/ml, 0.125 μg/ml) on leptospiral gene expression and analyzed the immunomodulatory effects of...

Magnolol, the main and active ingredient of the Magnolia officinalis, has been widely used in traditional prescription to the human disorders. Magnolol has been proved to have several pharmacological properties including anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the effects of magnolol on ulcerative colitis (UC) have n...

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an acute failure of the respiratory system for which effective treatment is urgently necessary. Previous studies found that several peptides potently inhibited the production of cytokines induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In this study, we synthetized a cell-permeable TIR domain-derived decoy peptide (TM6) and examined...

Background: Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is the causative pathogen of Classical swine fever (CSF), a highly contagious disease of swine. Viperin is one of the hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), and possesses a wide range of antiviral activities. The aim of this study was to explore whether porcine Viperin has the anti-CSFV activ...

Mastitis is one of most prevalent production disease in dairy herds worldwide, and is responsible for enormous economic losses. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a cytoprotective enzyme, which is involved in the response to oxidative stress and inflammatory response. The purpose of this study was to detect the protective effect of HO-1 on LPS-induced mast...

Ulcerative colitis (UC), an idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease, not only affects millions of patients worldwide, but also increases the risk of colon cancer. Geniposide is an iridoid glycoside and has many biological activities such as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. However, its protective efficacy and mechanism of action against UC are stil...

Doxycycline (Dox), a semisynthetic antibiotic, has been reported to exert multiple immunomodulatory effects. Treatment with Dox has a satisfactory curative effect against leptospirosis. In addition to its antibacterial action, we supposed that Dox also modulated immune response in controlling leptospira infection. Using J774A.1 mouse macrophages, t...

Effect of doxycycline on the cell viability of J774A.1 cells. Cells were cultured with different concentrations of doxycycline (0–20 µg/ml) for 24 and 48 h. The cell viability was determined by CCK-8 kit. Bars show the mean ± SD of three independent experiments.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of Terpinen-4-ol (TER) on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced experimental colitis and clarify the possible mechanisms. In vivo, an acute colitis model was used to confirm the anti-inflammatory activity and the possible mechanisms of TER in C57BL/6 and NLRP3−/− mice. In vitro, we...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects and mechanisms of the essential oil of Zanthoxylum bungeanum pericarp (ZBEO) on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced experimental colitis in mice. ZBEO decreased DSS-induced body weight loss, disease activity index (DAI), colon length shortening, colonic pathological damage and mye...

Leptospirosis is a systemic infection that causes, among others, acute kidney injury, acute liver disease, muscle pain, vasculitis, bleeding disorders, and reproductive loss. In an effort to reduce uterine inflammatory responses induced by Leptospira, we evaluated the anti-inflammation effects of emodin, thymol, and astragalin in a mouse model. Our...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of platycodin D (PLD) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and clarify the possible mechanism. An LPS-induced ALI model was used to confirm the anti-inflammatory activity of PLD in vivo. The A549 lung epithelial cells were used to investigate the molecular me...

Lead (Pb) exposure is a global environmental problem that can deplete body antioxidant enzymes, causing damage to various macromolecules and ultimately cell death. Pb exposure could lead to serious renal damage. Baicalin, a traditional Chinese medicine, could protect against renal injury through inhibition of oxidative stress and apoptosis. This st...

Leptospirosis, caused by Leptospira, is one of the most important of neglected emerging zoonotic diseases that has important impacts on public health worldwide. Polyclonal antibody (pcAb) therapy is a potential method to process a series of pathogens for which there are limited determination of treatment, such as leptospirosis. First, we evaluated...

Leptospirosis caused by pathogenic spirochetes is a zoonotic disease of global importance. The detailed pathogenesis of leptospirosis is still unclear, which limits the ideal treatment of leptospirosis. In this study, we analyzed the expression of the TLR2 and TLR4 in target organs of both resistant mice and susceptible hamsters after Leptospira in...

Zanthoxylum bungeanum, which belongs to the Zanthoxylum genus of the Rutaceae family, is now wildly distributed in most parts of China and some Southeast Asian countries. The pericarp of Zanthoxylum bungeanum has been known to exhibit antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and other important therapeutic activities. The purpose of this study was to inves...

Antibiotics play an important role in the treatment of leptospirosis. Many antibiotics at appropriate concentrations improved the survival rate and alleviated tissue injury, while, when dosing strategies fall below subtherapeutic levels, worse therapeutic effects are seen. In the present study, we investigated the efficacy of low-dose norfloxacin (...

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient affecting various aspects of health. Se deficiency has been associated with inflammation and immune responses. Mastitis poses a serious problem for humans and animals in the postpartum period. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the most common infectious bacterial pathogen associated with mastitis. The...

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient contributing to a strong immune system for the prevention of infections and diseases in humans and animals. Dietary Se regulates the immune status and mediates anti-inflammatory action. Mastitis is an inflammation in the mammary gland typically induced through the major pathogen S. aureus. The aim of the...

Saikosaponin a (SSa), the major triterpenoid saponin derivatives from Radix bupleuri (RB), has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of SSa on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). HUVECs were sti...

Mastitis, which commonly occurs during the postpartum period, is caused by the infection of the mammary glands. The most common infectious bacterial pathogen of mastitis is Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in both human and animals. Brazilin, a compound isolated from the traditional herbal medicine Caesalpinia sappan L., has been shown to exhibit...

Selenium (Se) is an essential nutritional trace element that affects the development and function of the reproductive system. Endometritis is a reproductive obstacle disease that can seriously reduce the reproductive capacity of animal. To study the effects of dietary Se deficiency on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mice endometritis, we generated...

Mastitis is a major disease in humans and other animals and is characterized by mammary gland inflammation. It is a major disease of the dairy industry. Bergenin is an active constituent of the plants of genus Bergenia. Research indicates that bergenin has multiple biological activities, including anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties....

Aims: Geniposide, a major iridoid glycoside found in gardenia fruit, is widely used in Asian countries for its anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and anti-apoptotic activities. Although the anti-inflammatory effect of geniposide has been widely reported, its anti-apoptotic role in mastitis remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated whether...