Wednesday April 2nd
11 -11:50 a.m.
College of Health Sciences, Room #1010
The Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and the Center for Global Cardiometabolic Health and Nutrition invite you to a guest lecture by Dr. Man-Sau Wong, Director of the Research Center for Chinese Medicine Innovation and Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Dr. Wong will discuss musculoskeletal protective agents targeting vitamin D metabolism. She holds a B.S. in Food Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition and Nutritional Biology from the University of Chicago.
No RSVP required!
About the Speaker:
Professor Man-Sau Wong is currently the Director of the Research Center for Chinese Medicine Innovation and Professor at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She received her B.S in Food Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and her Ph.D in Human Nutrition and Nutritional Biology at the University of Chicago. Her research interests include the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis; the study of the molecular actions of bone protective phytochemicals; the mechanisms of actions of TCM-derived phytoestrogens in achieving tissue selectivity; drug-herbs interactions between the use of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) and Chinese medicine used for the management of menopausal syndromes as well as the role of gut microbiota in mediating the therapeutic actions of Chinese medicine. She has received awards for her work on Traditional Chinese medicine and bone health, including the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) from the Ministry of Education of PRC in 2014 and the Shenzhen Virtual University Park National Technology Project Pioneer Award from Shenzhen Technology and Innovation Committee, PRC in 2012. She is currently Council Deputy Chairperson as well as Inspection Committee Chair of the Council on Human Reproductive Technology, HKSAR (2023-2026); Members of the Chinese Medicine Board (HKSAR) (2023-2026), Committee on Research and Development of Chinese Medicines of the Commission for Innovation and Technology (HKSAR) (2022-2025), Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food (2021-2027) and Advisory Council on Food and Environmental Hygiene (2019-2025) of the Environment and Ecology Bureau (HKSAR) and Council Member of the Modernized Chinese Medicine International Association (2008-2026).
Abstract:
In search of dietary and herbal protective agents against osteoporosis, we have identified a commonly prescribed Chinese herb (Fructus Ligustri Lucidii, FLL) and its bioactive ingredient (oleanoic acid) to exert vitamin D-like actions to protect against age-related changes in bone properties. Our earlier work demonstrated the positive effects of FLL on Ca balance in both estrogen-deficient (ovariectomized) and normal (sham-operated) rats. Our subsequent work indicated that FLL exert its bone protective effects via its action on the vitamin D- parathyroid hormone (PTH) axis by stimulating the production of 1,25(OH)2D3 in aged rats and such actions are independent of the estrogen status in the female rats. The increased circulating 1,25(OH)2D3 levels in aged normal and OVX rats upon FLL treatment were further demonstrated to be mediated by its action on inducing renal 25-hydroxyvitamin D 1a-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) mRNA and protein expressions. Subsequent studies further indicated that oleanoic acid (OA), a TGR5 (G-protein coupled bile acid receptor) ligand, mimicked the effects of FLL through its action to induce extra-renal CYP27B1 mRNA and protein expression in bone tissues as well as osteogenesis in bone marrow stromal cells. These findings lead to our recent effort in characterizing the effects of bile acids as well as agents that alter bile acid metabolism (such as probiotics) on vitamin D metabolism as well as musculoskeletal properties. Ongoing study in our laboratory also demonstrated that FLL and OA could exert stimulatory effects on myogenesis, possibly through its effects on the expression of vitamin D receptor (VDR) as well as CYP27B1 in differentiating myoblastic cells. The presentation will provide a brief summary of our journey in discovering musculoskeletal protective agents that target vitamin D metabolism.
