Abstract

Ulcerative colitis(UC) is one of the common gastrointestinal diseases worldwide. In recent years, the incidence of UC has been continuously increasing, seriously threatening the health of people globally. It thus has become an urgent problem that needs to be addressed. There is research evidence that intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction, including changes in intestinal stem cell secretion lineage, mucosal layer damage, disruption of cell junctions, overactive immune function, and imbalanced gut microbiota, is an important pathogenic factor and molecular basis of UC. The Notch signaling pathway is a highly conserved signaling pathway in eukaryotes during evolution, which transmits signals through cell connections between adjacent cells, affecting a series of processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, development, migration, and apoptosis. Therefore, the Notch signaling pathway can regulate intestinal stem cells, CD4~+T cells, innate lymphoid cells(ILCs), macrophages(MØ), and intestinal microbiota and thus affect the chemical, physical, immune, and biological mucosal barriers of the intestinal mucosa. Its function is extensive and unique, different from those signaling pathways that mainly focus on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant stress. It can explain the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine from different perspectives. This article reviewed the role of the Notch1 signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of UC and the relevant literature on the targeted prevention and treatment of UC with traditional Chinese medicine, so as to provide new targets and theoretical support for further research on the effective prevention and treatment of UC.