Plasma metabolomic profiling of repeated restraint stress in rats

Intestinal microbiota via NLRP3 inflammasome dependent neuronal pyroptosis mediates anxiety-like behaviour in mice exposed to 3.5 GHz radiofrequency radiation

The rapid development of 5G communication technology has increased public concern about the potential adverse effects on human health. Till now, the impacts of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) from 5G communication on the central nervous system and gut-brain axis are still unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effects of 3.5 GHz (a frequency commonly used in 5G communication) RFR on neurobehavior, gut microbiota, and gut-brain axis metabolites in mice. The results showed that exposure to 3.5 GHz RFR at 50 W/m2 for 1 h over 35 d induced anxiety-like behaviour in mice, accompanied by NLRP3-dependent neuronal pyroptosis in CA3 region of the dorsal hippocampus. In addition, the microbial composition was widely divergent between the sham and RFR groups. 3.5 GHz RFR also caused changes in metabolites of feces, serum, and brain. The differential metabolites were mainly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, and arginine biosynthesis. Further correlation analysis showed that gut microbiota dysbiosis was associated with differential metabolites. Based on the above results, we speculate that dysfunctional intestinal flora and metabolites may be involved in RFR-induced anxiety-like behaviour in mice through neuronal pyroptosis in the brain. The findings provide novel insights into the mechanism of 5G RFR-induced neurotoxicity.

Untargeted metabolomics reveals intervention effects of wine-processed Schisandra chinensis polysaccharide on Alzheimer's disease mice

Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill (SC) is a traditional sedative in China, with wide applications for treating various neurological disorders. Its polysaccharide component has been gaining increased attention for its potential in nerve protection. While raw SC is the primary focus of current research, its processed products are primarily utilized as clinical medicines. Notably, limited research exists on the mechanisms underlying the effects of wine-processed Schisandra chinensis polysaccharide (WSCP) in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Therefore, this study seeks to assess the therapeutic impact of WSCP on AD mice and investigate the underlying mechanisms through biochemical and metabolomics analyses. The results demonstrate that WSCP exerts significant therapeutic effects on AD mice by enhancing learning and memory abilities, mitigating hippocampal neuronal damage, reducing abnormal amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition, and attenuating hyperphosphorylation of Tau. Biochemical analysis revealed that WSCP can increase SOD content and decrease MDA, IL-6, and TNF-α content in AD mice. Furthermore, serum metabolomic results showed that WSCP intervention can reverse metabolic disorders in AD mice. 43 endogenous metabolites were identified as potential biomarkers for WSCP treatment of AD, and the major metabolic pathways were Ala, Glu and Asp metabolism, TCA cycle. Overall, these findings will provide a basis for further development of WSCP.

Metabolic Fingerprints of Effective Fluoxetine Treatment in the Prefrontal Cortex of Chronically Socially Isolated Rats: Marker Candidates and Predictive Metabolites

The increasing prevalence of depression requires more effective therapy and the understanding of antidepressants' mode of action. We carried out untargeted metabolomics of the prefrontal cortex of rats exposed to chronic social isolation (CSIS), a rat model of depression, and/or fluoxetine treatment using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. The behavioral phenotype was assessed by the forced swim test. To analyze the metabolomics data, we employed univariate and multivariate analysis and biomarker capacity assessment using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. We also identified the most predictive biomarkers using a support vector machine with linear kernel (SVM-LK). Upregulated myo-inositol following CSIS may represent a potential marker of depressive phenotype. Effective fluoxetine treatment reversed depressive-like behavior and increased sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, hypotaurine, and acetyl-L-carnitine contents, which were identified as marker candidates for fluoxetine efficacy. ROC analysis revealed 4 significant marker candidates for CSIS group discrimination, and 10 for fluoxetine efficacy. SVM-LK with accuracies of 61.50% or 93.30% identified a panel of 7 or 25 predictive metabolites for depressive-like behavior or fluoxetine effectiveness, respectively. Overall, metabolic fingerprints combined with the ROC curve and SVM-LK may represent a new approach to identifying marker candidates or predictive metabolites for ongoing disease or disease risk and treatment outcome.

Screening the effective components of Suanzaoren decoction on the treatment of chronic restraint stress induced anxiety-like mice by integrated chinmedomics and network pharmacology

BACKGROUND

Suanzaoren decoction (SZRD) is a classical traditional Chinese prescription. It is widely used to treat mental disorders, including insomnia, anxiety, and depression, in China and other Asian countries. However, the effective components and mechanisms underlying SZRD remained unclear.

PURPOSE

We aimed to develop a new strategy to discover the effects and potential mechanisms of SZRD against anxiety and to further reveal the effective components of SZRD in treating anxiety.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

First, the chronic restraint stress (CRS)-induced mouse model of anxiety was orally administered SZRD, and behavioral indicators and biochemical parameters were applied to assess efficacy. A chinmedomics strategy based on UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS technology and network pharmacology were then used to screen and explore potentially effective components and therapeutic mechanisms. Finally, molecular docking was applied to further confirm the effective components of SZRD, and a multivariate network for anxiolytic effects was constructed.

RESULTS

SZRD exerted anxiolytic effects by increasing the percentage of entries into open arms and the time spent in open arms; improving hippocampal 5-HT, GABA, and NE levels; and increasing serum corticosterone (CORT) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) levels caused by CRS challenge. Beside, SZRD exerted a sedative effect by decreasing sleep time and prolonging sleep latency with no muscle relaxation effect in CRS mice. A total of 110 components were identified in SZRD, 20 of which were absorbed in the blood. Twenty-one serum biomarkers involved in arachidonic acid, tryptophan, sphingolipid, and linoleic acid metabolism were identified after SZRD intervention. Finally, a multivariate network including prescription-effective components-targets-pathway of SZRD treating anxiety, including 11 effective components, 4 targets and 2 pathway was constructed.

CONCLUSION

The current study demonstrated that integrating chinmedomics and network pharmacology was a powerful approach to investigating the effective components and therapeutic mechanisms of SZRD and provided a solid basis for the quality marker (Q-marker) of SZRD.

Serum metabolomics study of anxiety disorder patients based on LC-MS

BACKGROUND

In the current environment of increasing social pressure, anxiety disorder has become a kind of health problem that needs to be solved urgently. However, the pathological mechanism of anxiety is still unclear, the classification of clinical diagnosis and symptoms is complex, and there is still a lack of biomarkers that can be identified and judged.

METHODS

This study used LC-MS and non-targeted metabolomics to analyze the clinically collected plasma of 18 samples from anxiety disorder patients and 31 samples from healthy people to screen differential metabolites and perform subsequent metabolic pathway analysis. Binary Logistic regression was used to construct the anxiety disorder diagnosis prediction model and evaluate the prediction efficacy.

RESULTS

The results showed that 22 metabolites were disturbed in the plasma of anxiety patients compared with healthy people. These metabolites mainly participate in 6 metabolic pathways. The combined diagnostic factors 4-Acetamidobutanoate, 3-Hydroxysebacic acid, and Cytosine were used to construct the diagnosis prediction model. The prediction probability of the model is 91.8%, the Youden index is 0.889, the sensitivity is 0.889, and the specificity is 1.000, so the prediction effect is good.

CONCLUSIONS

This study preliminarily analyzed and explored the differences between plasma samples from patients with anxiety disorder and healthy individuals, increased the types of potential biomarkers for anxiety disorder, and provided a valuable reference for subsequent research related to anxiety disorder.

Metabolomic characteristics of spontaneously hypertensive rats under chronic stress and the treatment effect of Danzhi Xiaoyao Powder, a traditional Chinese medicine formula

OBJECTIVE

Numerous studies have demonstrated the close relationship between chronic stress and blood pressure (BP). Hypertensive subjects exhibit exaggerated reactions to stress, especially higher BP. The mechanisms by which stress affects pre-existing hypertension still need to be explored. Danzhi Xiaoyao Powder (DP), a historical traditional Chinese medicine formula, is a promising treatment for BP control in hypertensive patients under stress. The present study investigated the metabolomic disruption caused by chronic stress and the treatment effect and mechanism of DP.

METHODS

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were subjected to chronic restraint stress (CRS) for 4 weeks. BP was measured via the tail-cuff method, and anxiety-like behavior was quantified using the elevated-plus-maze test. Meanwhile, DP was administered intragastrically, and its effects were observed. Global metabolomic analysis was performed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry, followed by multivariate statistical analysis to detect differential metabolites and pathways.

RESULTS

DP alleviated the CRS-induced increase in BP and anxiety-like behavior. Systematic metabolic differences were found among the three study groups. A total of 29 differential plasma metabolites were identified in both positive- and negative-ion modes. These metabolites were involved in triglyceride metabolism, amino acid (phenylalanine, tryptophan, and glycine) metabolism, and steroid hormone pathways.

CONCLUSION

These findings expose the metabolomic disturbances induced by chronic stress in SHRs and suggest an innovative treatment for this disorder.

Altered metabolic pathways elucidated via untargeted in vivo toxicometabolomics in rat urine and plasma samples collected after controlled application of a human equivalent amphetamine dose

Amphetamine is widely consumed as drug of abuse due to its stimulating and cognitive enhancing effects. Since amphetamine has been on the market for quite a long time and it is one of the most commonly used stimulants worldwide, to date there is still limited information on its effects on the metabolome. In recent years, untargeted toxicometabolomics have been increasingly used to study toxicity-related pathways of such drugs of abuse to find and identify important endogenous and exogenous biomarkers. In this study, the acute effects of amphetamine intake on plasma and urinary metabolome in rats were investigated. For this purpose, samples of male Wistar rats after a single dose of amphetamine (5 mg/kg) were compared to a control group using an untargeted metabolomics approach. Analysis was performed using normal and reversed phase liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry using positive and negative ionization mode. Statistical evaluation was performed using Welch's two-sample t test, hierarchical clustering, as well as principal component analysis. The results of this study demonstrate a downregulation of amino acids in plasma samples after amphetamine exposure. Furthermore, four new potential biomarkers N-acetylamphetamine, N-acetyl-4-hydroxyamphetamine, N-acetyl-4-hydroxyamphetamine glucuronide, and amphetamine succinate were identified in urine. The present study complements previous data and shows that several studies are necessary to elucidate altered metabolic pathways associated with acute amphetamine exposure.

Integrating the monoamine and cytokine hypotheses of depression: Is histamine the missing link?

Psychiatric diseases, like depression, largely affect the central nervous system (CNS). While the underlying neuropathology of depressive illness remains to be elucidated, several hypotheses have been proposed as molecular underpinnings for major depressive disorder, including the monoamine hypothesis and the cytokine hypothesis. The monoamine hypothesis has been largely supported by the pharmaceuticals that target monoamine neurotransmitters as a treatment for depression. However, these antidepressants have come under scrutiny due to their limited clinical efficacy, side effects, and delayed onset of action. The more recent, cytokine hypothesis of depression is supported by the ability of immune-active agents to induce "sickness behaviour" akin to that seen with depression. However, treatments that more selectively target inflammation have yielded inconsistent antidepressive results. As such, neither of these hypotheses can fully explain depressive illness pathology, implying that the underlying neuropathological mechanisms may encompass aspects of both theories. The goal of the current review is to integrate these two well-studied hypotheses and to propose a role for histamine as a potential unifying factor that links monoamines to cytokines. Additionally, we will focus on stress-induced depression, to provide an updated perspective of depressive illness research and thereby identify new potential targets for the treatment of major depressive disorder.