Metabolomics study of cerebrospinal fluid from diabetic rats with cognitive impairment simultaneously treated with Panax quinquefolius and Acorus gramineus

Hippocampal proteins discovery of Panax quinquefolius and Acorus gramineus ameliorating cognitive impairment in diabetic rats

RATIONALE

Early diagnosis of diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI) and investigation of effective medicines are significant to prevent or delay the occurrence of irreversible dementia.

OBJECTIVES

In this study, proteomics was applied to investigate the changes of hippocampal proteins after administration of Panax quinquefolius-Acorus gramineus (PQ-AG) to DCI rats, with a view to discover the differentially expressed proteins of PQ-AG action and elucidated the potential biological relationships.

METHODS

The model and PQ-AG group rats were injected intraperitoneally with streptozotocin, and the PQ-AG group rats were continuously administered with PQ-AG. Social interaction and Morris water maze were performed to evaluate the behavior of rats on the 17th week after the model was established, and DCI rats were screened out from the model group by a screening approach. The hippocampal protein differences were investigated with proteomics in DCI and PQ-AG-treated rats.

RESULTS

The learning and memory abilities and contact duration of DCI rats were improved after 16 weeks of PQ-AG administration. Altogether, 9 and 17 differentially expressed proteins were observed in control versus DCI rats and in DCI versus PQ-AG-treated rats, respectively. Three proteins were confirmed with western blotting analyses. These proteins were mainly involved in the pathways of JAK-STAT, apoptosis, PI3K/AKT, fork-head box protein O3, fructose, and mannose metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS

This suggested that PQ-AG ameliorated cognitive impairment of diabetic rats by influencing the above pathways and providing an experimental basis for the mechanism of DCI and PQ-AG.

Insulin resistance in Alzheimer's disease: The genetics and metabolomics links

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with significant socioeconomic burden worldwide. Although genetics and environmental factors play a role, AD is highly associated with insulin resistance (IR) disorders such as metabolic syndrome (MS), obesity, and type two diabetes mellitus (T2DM). These findings highlight a shared pathogenesis. The use of metabolomics as a downstream systems' biology (omics) approach can help to identify these shared metabolic traits and assist in the early identification of at-risk groups and potentially guide therapy. Targeting the shared AD-IR metabolic trait with lifestyle interventions and pharmacological treatments may offer promising AD therapeutic approach. In this narrative review, we reviewed the literature on the AD-IR pathogenic link, the shared genetics and metabolomics biomarkers between AD and IR disorders, as well as the lifestyle interventions and pharmacological treatments which target this pathogenic link.

Research progress on metabolomics in the quality evaluation and clinical study of Panax ginseng

Panax ginseng, an essential component of traditional medicine and often referred to as the king of herbs, has played a pivotal role in medicine globally for several millennia. Previously, traditional phytochemical methods were mainly used for quality evaluation and pharmacological mechanism studies of ginseng, resulting in the lack of systematicness and innovation and hindering the development and utilization of ginseng resources. Since the beginning of the new century, systems biology technology represented by metabolomics has shown unique advantages in the modernization and internationalization of herbal medicine, establishing a bridge for communication between traditional medicine and modern medicine. P. ginseng, a special herb used in medicine and food, is one of the main research objects for qualitative and quantitative analysis of metabolomics and has gradually become the focus of researchers globally. Here, we conducted a comprehensive summary and analysis of numerous studies published in ginseng metabolomics. This review aims to provide more novel ideas for the quality evaluation, development, and clinical application of ginseng in the future and offer more useful technical references for the modernization and internationalization of herbal medicine based on metabolomics.

Exploration on the Improvement of Cognitive Function and Inflammatory Response in Perimenopausal Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment by Self-Prepared Ningshen Prescription

Objective

To investigate the improvement of cognitive function and inflammatory response in perimenopausal patients with MCI by kidney-tonifying, blood-activating, and mind-nourishing.

Methods

80 perimenopausal patients with MCI who met the diagnostic criteria were divided into a therapy group (n = 40) and a control group (n = 40) according to the treatment method. The control group was given nimodipine (Bayer Pharmaceuticals) 30 mg, 3 times/day orally, while the therapy group was given a decoction of self-prepared Ningshen prescription on the top of the control group (glossy privet fruit, mulberry, aizoon stonecrop, dan-shen root, tuber fleeceflower stem, cyperus rotundus, citron). Patients in the 2 groups were assessed on the MocA scale, ADL scale, and TCM symptom score before and after 2 months of treatment, respectively, to observe whether there was any change in the scale scores and in the levels of inflammatory factors (hs-CRP, Hcy, and IL-1β) Pre- and posttherapy in the 2 groups. Observe the improvement of clinical symptoms and their safety in both groups (liver and kidney function indicators such as ALT, AST and Cr, dizziness, headache, decrease in blood pressure, flushing, and gastrointestinal reactions).

Results

The efficacy of the therapy group was better than that of the control group; the MocA scale and ADL scale scores improved and the TCM symptom score decreased in both groups posttherapy, with the MocA scale and ADL scale scores improving more and the TCM symptom score decreasing more in the therapy group compared with the control group during the same period (p < 0.05). The serum levels of hs-CRP, Hcy, and IL-1β decreased in both groups posttherapy, with the serum levels of hs-CRP, Hcy, and IL-1β decreasing more in the therapy group compared to the control group during the same period (p < 0.05). The difference in adverse events between the two groups was not statistically significant when compared by a chi-square test (p > 0.05). The differences in ALT, AST, and Cr levels between the control group and the treatment group before and after treatment were not significant (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Ning Shen prescription can effectively prevent the continued development of cognitive dysfunction in perimenopausal patients with MCI, delay its natural course, and can improve the patients' ability to perform daily activities and improve their TCM symptoms.

Hippocampal proteins discovery of diabetes-induced central neuropathy based on proteomics

OBJECTIVES

Growing evidence suggests that diabetes can cause multifactorial damage to the central nervous system (CNS) and may lead to dementia. However, the underlying mechanism of diabetes-induced central neuropathy remains sparse. In recent years, proteomics has provided better methods and means in analyzing the molecular mechanisms of disease. We applied proteomics to investigate the changes of hippocampal proteins in diabetic rats, with a view to discover the biomarkers of diabetes-induced central neuropathy and elucidated the potential biological relationships.

METHODS

Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control group and model group. The model group rats were injected intraperitoneally with streptozotocin. Morris water maze test was performed to evaluate the learning and memory of rats, and the hippocampus was taken out. Proteomics were adopted to investigate the changes of differentially expressed proteins.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, the escape latency of the diabetic rats was significantly increased (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). It was presented that four differentially expressed proteins might be the potential biomarkers of diabetes-induced central neuropathy: septin 5, GRB2 related binding protein 2 (GAB2), casein kinase 1ε (CK1ε), aquaporin 4 (AQP4). These differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in the following signaling pathways: apoptosis, glycine/serine/threonine metabolic and GTPase signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provided reference insights into the underlying molecular pathogenesis of diabetes-induced CNS neuropathy.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Amino Acid Metabolite Signatures of Diabetic Cognitive Dysfunction Based on Targeted Mass Spectrometry

BACKGROUND

Diabetic cognitive dysfunction (DCD) is one of severe diabetic complications and might develop to irreversible dementia. Early diagnosis and detection of DCD is significant for prevention and treatment.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this study was to investigate the amino acid profiles of rat with DCD in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to distinguish the early specific biomarkers.

METHODS

In total, rats were assigned into control and model groups. Model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The Morris water maze (MWM) method was used to evaluate learning and memory in rats on the 13th week after the model established. CSF samples were collected via cisterna magna puncture at the 0th, 5th, 9th, and 13th week, and amino acids profiling of CSF samples were performed via ultra performance liquid chromatography multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (UPLC-MRM-MS). The amino acid profile was processed through multivariate analysis to identify potential biomarkers, and the related metabolic pathways were analyzed by MetaboAnalyst 5.0.

RESULTS

Compared to the control group, the escape latency of the MWM was significantly prolonged in model group rats (p <  0.05). Different amino acid profiles were obtained between two groups. L-Alanine, L-Glutamine, L-Lysine, L-Serine, and L-Threonine were identified as potential biomarkers for DCD. These biomarkers are principally involved in glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism, and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism.

CONCLUSION

There are amino acid biomarkers in the CSF of rat with DCD. The mechanism of DCD is related to those pathways, which provide help for the early diagnosis and treatment and mechanism research.