An integrated approach to uncover quality markers of stir-baking Semen Cuscuta with salt solution preventing recurrent spontaneous abortion based on chemical and metabolomic profiling

Mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of Semen cuscutae in treating recurrent spontaneous abortion based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Background: This paper aims to analyse the active components of Semen cuscutae (SC) by network pharmacology and screen the most stable compounds with tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) by molecular docking to explore the mechanisms of SC treatment of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) and provide a theoretical basis for drug development. Methods: The active compounds of SC and the potential inflammatory targets of RSA were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database and GeneCards, respectively. The RSA-SC target gene interaction network was obtained and visualized using the STRING database and Cytoscape software. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were obtained from DAVID to further explore the RSA mechanism and therapeutic effects of SC. Interactions between TNF-α and drugs were analysed by molecular docking. Treatment of human trophoblast cells with sesamin and TNF-α was carried out to detect their proliferative and apoptotic abilities, and WB assay was carried out to detect EGFR, PTGS2, and CASP3 protein expression. Results: Ten compounds and 128 target genes were screened from SC, of which 79 overlapped with RSA target inflammatory genes, which were considered potential therapeutic targets. Network pharmacological analysis showed that sesamin, matrine, matrol, and other SC compounds had a good correlation with the inflammatory target genes of RSA. Related genes included PGR, PTGS1, PTGS2, TGFB1, and CHRNA7. Several signalling pathways are involved in the pathogenesis of RSA, such as the TNF-α signalling pathway, HIF-1 signalling pathway, oestrogen signalling pathway, proteoglycans in cancer cells, and FoxO signalling pathway. Molecular docking results suggested that sesamin was the most suitable natural tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi). Sesamin can promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis in human trophoblasts by downregulating EGFR and CASP3 expression and upregulating PTGS2 expression. Conclusion: Our findings play an important role and basis for further research into the molecular mechanism of SC treatment of RSA and drug development of TNFi.

The serum lipidomics reveal the action mechanism of Danggui-Yimucao herbal pair in abortion mice

Medical abortion is a common medical procedure that women choose to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, but it often brings post-abortion complications. Danggui (Angelica sinensis Radix)-Yimucao (Leonuri Herba), as a herbal pair (DY) in clinical prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine, is often used in the treatment of gynecological diseases and has the traditional functions of tonifying the blood, promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis and regulating menstruation. In this study, serum lipidomics were adopted to dissect the mechanism of DY in promoting recovery after medical abortion. A total of 152 differential metabolites were screened by lipidomics. All metabolites were imported into MetaboAnalyst for analysis, and finally key metabolic pathways such as glycerophospholipid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism and pentose and glucuronate interconversions were enriched. Our results indicated that metabolic disorders in abortion mice were alleviated by DY through glycerophospholipid metabolism, while prostaglandin and leukotriene metabolites might be the key targets of DY to promote post-abortion recovery.

Psoralen Promotes Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion of Human Extravillous Trophoblast Derived HTR-8/Svneo Cells in vitro by NF-κB Pathway

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a kind of pathological pregnancy, and abnormal function of trophoblast cells may be related to a variety of pregnancy complications including RSA. Psoralen is an effective ingredient extracted from Cullen corylifolium (L.) Medik. with multiple bioactivities mainly including anti-osteoporotic, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and estrogen-like effects. However, the exact role of psoralen on trophoblast invasiveness has not been investigated thus far. In the present study, the effects of psoralen on the proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of HTR-8/SVneo cells were evaluated by the CCK-8 and Transwell assays. The expression patterns of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)/p65 and metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 were characterized by further experiments including real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. Indirect immunofluorescence was applied to track the NF-κB p65 translocation. Herein, we found that cell viability and invasive ability were promoted by psoralen in a concentration-dependent manner. Psoralen concentration-dependently enhanced both MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression and their activity of HTR-8/SVneo cells. Additionally, we observed accelerated nuclear accumulation and enhanced nuclear translocation of p65 in the presence of psoralen. Furthermore, invasiveness enhancement of psoralen on HTR-8/SVneo cells was partly eliminated by a NF-κB pathway inhibitor. Thus, our findings suggest that psoralen may serve as a potential repurpose drug candidate that can be used to induce migration and invasion of trophoblast cells through strengthening the NF-κB pathway.

Danggui-Yimucao Herb Pair Can Protect Mice From the Immune Imbalance Caused by Medical Abortion and Stabilize the Level of Serum Metabolites

Unintended pregnancy is a situation that every woman may encounter, and medical abortion is the first choice for women, but abortion often brings many sequelae. Angelica sinensis Radix (Danggui) and Leonuri Herba (Yimucao) are widely used in the treatment of gynecological diseases, which can regulate menstrual disorders, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, but the mechanism for the treatment of abortion is not clear. We determined the ability of Danggui and Yimucao herb pair (DY) to regulate the Th1/Th2 paradigm by detecting the level of progesterone in the serum and the expression of T-bet and GATA-3 in the spleen and uterus. Then, we detected the level of metabolites in the serum and enriched multiple metabolic pathways. The arachidonic acid pathway can directly regulate the differentiation of Th1/Th2 cells. This may be one of the potential mechanisms of DY in the treatment of abortion.