Biomarkers in the early period of acute myocardial infarction in rat serum and protective effects of Shexiang Baoxin Pill using a metabolomic method

Shexiang Baoxin Pill enriches Lactobacillus to regulate purine metabolism in patients with stable coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND

It has been clinically confirmed that the Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) dramatically reduces the frequency of angina in patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD). However, potential therapeutic mechanism of SBP has not been fully explored.

PURPOSE

The study explored the therapeutic mechanism of SBP in the treatment of SCAD patients.

METHODS

We examined the serum metabolic profiles of patients with SCAD following SBP treatment. A rat model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was established, and the potential therapeutic mechanism of SBP was explored using metabolomics, transcriptomics, and 16S rRNA sequencing.

RESULTS

SBP decreased inosine production and improved purine metabolic disorders in patients with SCAD and in animal models of AMI. Inosine was implicated as a potential biomarker for SBP efficacy. Furthermore, SBP inhibited the expression of genes involved in purine metabolism, which are closely associated with thrombosis, inflammation, and platelet function. The regulation of purine metabolism by SBP was associated with the enrichment of Lactobacillus. Finally, the effects of SBP on inosine production and vascular function could be transmitted through the transplantation of fecal microbiota.

CONCLUSION

Our study reveals a novel mechanism by which SBP regulates purine metabolism by enriching Lactobacillus to exert cardioprotective effects in patients with SCAD. The data also provide previously undocumented evidence indicating that inosine is a potential biomarker for evaluating the efficacy of SBP in the treatment of SCAD.

Effect of traditional Chinese medicine on metabolism disturbance in ischemic heart diseases

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Ischemic heart diseases (IHD), characterized by metabolic dysregulation, contributes majorly to the global morbidity and mortality. Glucose, lipid and amino acid metabolism are critical energy production for cardiomyocytes, and disturbances of these metabolism lead to the cardiac injury. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), widely used for treating IHD, have been demonstrated to effectively and safely regulate the cardiac metabolism reprogramming.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

This study discussed and analyzed the disturbed cardiac metabolism induced by IHD and development of formulas, extracts, single herb, bioactive compounds of TCM ameliorating IHD injury via metabolism regulation, with the aim of providing a basis for the development of clinical application of therapeutic strategies for TCM in IHD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

With "ischemic heart disease", "myocardial infarction", "myocardial ischemia", "metabolomics", "Chinese medicine", "herb", "extracts" "medicinal plants", "glucose", "lipid metabolism", "amino acid" as the main keywords, PubMed, Web of Science, and other online search engines were used for literature retrieval.

RESULTS

IHD exhibits a close association with metabolism disorders, including but not limited to glycolysis, the TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, branched-chain amino acids, fatty acid β-oxidation, ketone body metabolism, sphingolipid and glycerol-phospholipid metabolism. The therapeutic potential of TCM lies in its ability to regulate these disturbed cardiac metabolisms. Additionally, the active ingredients of TCM have depicted wonderful effects in cardiac metabolism reprogramming in IHD.

CONCLUSION

Drawing from the principles of TCM, we have pinpointed specific herbal remedies for the treatment of IHD, and leveraged advanced metabolomics technologies to uncover the effect of these TCMs on metabolomics alteration. In the future, further clinical experimental studies should be included to explore whether more TCM medicines can play a therapeutic role in IHD by reversing cardiac metabolism disorders; multi-omics would be conducted to explore more pathways and genes targeting such metabolism reprogramming by TCMs, and to seek more TCM therapies for IHD.

Elucidation of the beneficial role of co-fermented whole grain quinoa and black barley with Lactobacillus on rats fed a western-style diet via a multi-omics approach

Long-term consumption of Western-style diet (WSD) can lead to metabolic disorders and dysbiosis of gut microbiota, presenting a critical risk factor for various chronic conditions such as fatty liver disease. In the present study, we investigated the beneficial role of co-fermented whole grain quinoa and black barley with Lactobacillus kisonensis on rats fed a WSD. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, aged six weeks and weighing 180 ± 10 g, were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the normal control group (NC, n = 7), the WSD group (HF, n = 7), and the WSD supplemented with a co-fermented whole grain quinoa with black barley (FQB) intervention group (HFF, n = 7). The findings indicated that FQB was effective in suppressing body weight gain, mitigating hepatic steatosis, reducing perirenal fat accumulation, and ameliorating pathological damage in the livers and testicular tissues of rats. Additionally, FQB intervention led to decreased levels of serum uric acid (UA), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). These advantageous effects can be ascribed to the regulation of FQB on gut microbiota dysbiosis, which includes the restoration of intestinal flora diversity, reduction of the F/B ratio, and promotion of probiotics abundance, such as Akkermansia and [Ruminococcus] at the genus level. The study employed the UPLC-Q-TOF-MSE technique to analyze metabolites in fecal and hepatic samples. The findings revealed that FQB intervention led to a regression in the levels of specific metabolites in feces, including oxoadipic acid and 20a, 22b-dihydroxycholesterol, as well as in the liver, such as pyridoxamine, xanthine and xanthosine. The transcriptome sequencing of liver tissues revealed that FQB intervention modulated the mRNA expression of specific genes, including Cxcl12, Cidea, and Gck, known for their roles in anti-inflammatory and anti-insulin resistance mechanisms in the context of WSD. Our findings indicate that co-fermented whole-grain quinoa with black barley has the potential to alleviate metabolic disorders and chronic inflammation resulting from the consumption of WSD.

Pseudo-targeted metabolic profile differences between emergency patients with type 1 and type 2 myocardial infarction diagnosed by optical coherence tomography

BACKGROUND

It is difficult to distinguish type 2 myocardial infarction (T2MI) from type 1 myocardial infarction (T1MI), although their management varies.

OBJECTIVES

Using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and pseudo-targeted metabolomics to identify biomarkers, investigate metabolic differences, and establish a T2MI subclassification.

METHODS

Among 1519 patients with MI, 97 T2MI patients are identified who are 1:1 matched with 97 T1MI patients after considering age, gender, ST-segment elevation, time from onset to coronary angiography, and hs-cTnI on admission by propensity score matching. Plasma pseudo-targeted metabolomics at baseline was determined.

RESULTS

The clinical characteristics of the two groups were comparable, while the T1MI showed more severe coronary lesions than T2MI according to OCT imaging. 90 differential metabolites were identified between the two groups, among 1027 endogenous metabolites in 20 classes. N-Acetyl-L-Leucine, free fatty acid (15:1), Thymidine-5'-triphosphate, Mevalonic acid 5-pyrophosphate, and five oligopeptides were candidate biomarkers (AUC ≥ 0.85) distinguishing T2MI from T1MI. 12 KEGG pathways showed significant differences, mainly involving amino acid, nucleotide, and their derivatives metabolism, and signaling pathways such as mTOR, cGMP-PKG, and cAMP. Other differences were observed in TCA cycle (P = 0.08) and ROS (P = 0.05). Proteolysis and coronary heart disease risk lipid level were lower in T2MI. T2MI had a decrease of differential abundance score in almost all the KEGG enrichment pathways. Furthermore, T2MI can be subdivided into three subtypes by hierarchical cluster analysis of AUCs with causes/triggers of T2MI.

CONCLUSIONS

There are significant metabolic profile differences between T1MI and T2MI. Several candidate metabolic biomarkers can effectively distinguish the two groups.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials. gov NCT03297164.

Therapeutic effect of Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim. leaves on ischemic stroke via the microbiota-gut-brain axis

Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim. leaves (ESL) are widely used to treat ischemic stroke (IS); however, the specific mechanism remains unclear. The microbiota-gut-brain axis plays a critical role in IS and has become a potential therapeutic target. This study aimed to reveal and verify the therapeutic effect of ESL on IS through the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry-based untargeted/targeted metabolomics combined with 16S rRNA microbiota sequencing strategy were used to investigate the regulatory effect of ESL on the metabolism and intestinal microenvironment after IS. Lactobacillus reuteri and Clostridium butyricum were used to treat rats with IS to verify that elevated levels of probiotics are key factors in the therapeutic effect of ESL. The results showed that IS significantly altered the accumulation of 41 biomarkers, while ESL restored their concentrations back to normal. Moreover, ESL alleviated the dysbiosis of gut microbiota brought on by IS, by reducing the abundance of pathogens and increasing the abundance of probiotics (e.g., Lactobacillus reuteri and Clostridium butyricum); this could reduce post-stroke injury, thereby having a certain protective effect on IS. This study reveals that ESL plays an important role in treating IS through the microbiota-gut-brain axis, maintaining metabolic homeostasis in vivo.

Identification of biomarkers associated with the feed efficiency by metabolomics profiling: results from the broiler lines divergent for high or low abdominal fat content

Background

Improving feed efficiency (FE) is one of the main objectives in broiler breeding. It is difficult to directly measure FE traits, and breeders hence have been trying to identify biomarkers for the indirect selection and improvement of FE traits. Metabolome is the "bridge" between genome and phenome. The metabolites may potentially account for more of the phenotypic variation and can suitably serve as biomarkers for selecting FE traits. This study aimed to identify plasma metabolite markers for selecting high-FE broilers. A total of 441 birds from Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content were used to analyze plasma metabolome and estimate the genetic parameters of differentially expressed metabolites.

Results

The results identified 124 differentially expressed plasma metabolites (P < 0.05) between the lean line (high-FE birds) and the fat line (low-FE birds). Among these differentially expressed plasma metabolites, 44 were found to have higher positive or negative genetic correlations with FE traits (|r_g| ≥ 0.30). Of these 44 metabolites, 14 were found to display moderate to high heritability estimates (h² ≥ 0.20). However, among the 14 metabolites, 4 metabolites whose physiological functions have not been reported were excluded. Ultimately, 10 metabolites were suggested to serve as the potential biomarkers for breeding the high-FE broilers. Based on the physiological functions of these metabolites, reducing inflammatory and improving immunity were proposed to improve FE and increase production efficiency.

Conclusions

According to the pipeline for the selection of the metabolite markers established in this study, it was suggested that 10 metabolites including 7-ketocholesterol, dimethyl sulfone, epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)-lysine, gamma-glutamyltyrosine, 2-oxoadipic acid, L-homoarginine, testosterone, adenosine 5'-monophosphate, adrenic acid, and calcitriol could be used as the potential biomarkers for breeding the "food-saving broilers".

Effect of acute high-intensity exercise on myocardium metabolic profiles in rat and human study via metabolomics approach

Acute high-intensity exercise can affect cardiac health by altering substance metabolism. However, few metabolomics-based studies provide data on the effect of exercise along with myocardial metabolism. Our study aimed to identify metabolic signatures in rat myocardium during acute high-intensity exercise and evaluate their diagnostic potential for sports injuries. We collected rat myocardium samples and subjects’ serum samples before and after acute high-intensity exercise for metabolite profiling to explore metabolic alterations of exercise response in the myocardium. Multivariate analysis revealed myocardium metabolism differed before and after acute high-intensity exercise. Furthermore, 6 target metabolic pathways and 12 potential metabolic markers for acute high-intensity exercise were identified. Our findings provided an insight that myocardium metabolism during acute high-intensity exercise had distinct disorders in complex lipids and fatty acids. Moreover, an increase of purine degradation products, as well as signs of impaired glucose metabolism, were observed. Besides, amino acids were enhanced with a certain protective effect on the myocardium. In this study, we discovered how acute high-intensity exercise affected myocardial metabolism and exercise-related heart injury risks, which can provide references for pre-competition screening, risk prevention, and disease prognosis in competitive sports and effective formulation of exercise prescriptions for different people.

Shexiang Baoxin Pill for Acute Myocardial Infarction: Clinical Evidence and Molecular Mechanism of Antioxidative Stress

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been a preclinical and clinical concern due to high hospitalization rate and mortality. This study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness and safety of Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) for AMI and exploring the possible mechanism of oxidative stress. Six databases were searched on March 26, 2021. Twenty-four studies were included and accessed by the RoB 2.0 or SYRCLE tool. Compared with routine treatment (RT), SBP showed the effectiveness in the clinical efficacy (RR = 1.15, 95% CI [1.06, 1.25]), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (SMD = 0.73, 95% CI [0.62, 0.95]), glutathione (GSH) (SMD = 2.07, 95% CI [1.51, 2.64]), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (SMD = 0.92, 95% CI [0.58, 1.26]), malondialdehyde (MDA) (SMD = -4.23, 95% CI [-5.80, -2.66]), creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) (SMD = -4.98, 95% CI [-5.64, -4.33]), cardiac troponin I (cTnI) (SMD = -2.17, 95% CI [-2.57, -1.76]), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP) (SMD = -1.34, 95% CI [-1.56, -1.12]), interleukin-6 (IL-6) (SMD = -0.99, 95% CI [-1.26, -0.71]), triglycerides (TG) (SMD = -0.52, 95% CI [-0.83, -0.22]), flow-mediated dilation (FMD) (SMD = 1.39, 95% CI [1.06, 1.72]), von Willebrand Factor (vWF) (SMD = -1.77, 95% CI [-2.39, -1.15]), nitric oxide (NO) (SMD = 0.89, 95% CI [0.65, 1.13]), and recurrent rate (RR = 0.30, 95% CI [0.15, 0.59]). But SBP adjunctive to RT plus PCI had no improvements in almost pooled outcomes except for the Hs-CRP (SMD = -1.19, 95% CI [-1.44, -0.94]) and TG (SMD = -0.25, 95% CI [-0.48, -0.02]). Laboratory findings showed that SBP enhanced the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity and regulated laboratory indexes especially for homocysteine. In conclusion, SBP has adjunctive effects on AMI via the mechanism of antioxidative stress. The current evidence supports the use of SBP for mild and moderate AMI patients.

Metabolomics of Spleen-Yang deficiency syndrome and the therapeutic effect of Fuzi Lizhong pill on regulating endogenous metabolism

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Spleen-Yang deficiency (SYD) is one of the primary causes of many digestive diseases, such as ulcerative colitis (UC), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but its endogenous metabolic characteristics are still unclear. Fuzi Lizhong pill (FLZP) is well-known for its powerful capacity for treating SYD; however, its mechanisms require further study.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Herein, our present study aimed to investigate the essence of SYD from the perspective of metabolomics, and tried to reveal the anti-SYD action mechanisms of FLZP.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Firstly, the compound factor modeling method with the principle of "indiscipline in diet + excessive fatigue + intragastric administration of Senna water extracts" was used to establish Sprague Dawley (SD) rats as SYD model. Then, the visceral index, motilin (MTL), malonaldehyde (MDA), Interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1α), and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels were used to verify the anti-SYD effect of FLZP. In addition, serum samples were analyzed by UPLC-QE/MS metabolomics technique. Finally, the metabolic pathways associated with specific biomarkers were analyzed to research the possible mechanism underlying the action of FLZP.

RESULTS

The expression of MTL, MDA, IL-1α, and IL-6 were regulated by FLZP, which suggested that it has relieved diarrhea and gastrointestinal motility disorder caused by SYD and had an anti-peroxidation, anti-inflammatory, and immune regulation effect. A total of 75 metabolites were found to be the potential biomarkers of SYD. Moreover, FLZP regulates 21 metabolites and 10 vital pathways including the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, sphingolipid metabolism, and histidine metabolism.

CONCLUSION

SYD primarily causes disorders of amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, nucleotide metabolism, and translation. In addition, FLZP regulated carbohydrate, lipid, and amino acid metabolisms, gastrointestinal motility, digestive juice secretion, immune regulation, as well as antioxidant effects. Hence, FLZP had a good therapeutic effect on treatment of SYD. It might be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of SYD-related diseases.

Shexiang Baoxin Pill, a Proprietary Multi-Constituent Chinese Medicine, Prevents Locomotor and Cognitive Impairment Caused by Brain Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury in Rats: A Potential Therapy for Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of Stroke

Ischemic stroke is a common type of cerebrovascular event and also the leading cause of disability. Post-stroke cognitive impairment occurs frequently in stroke survivors. Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) is a proprietary Chinese medicine, initially used to treat cardiovascular diseases. Herein, we aim to explore the effects of SBP on oxygen glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) in neuronal cells (CATH.a) and cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury induced post-stroke cognitive impairment in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model. MCAO rats received two doses of oral SBP treatment (28 or 56 mg/kg) after 1 h of operation and once daily for 2 weeks continuously. Behavioral tests, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence were examined after 14 days. Current data suggest that SBP enhanced cell viability and downregulated apoptosis via activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in CATH. a cells. Furthermore, 14 days of SBP treatment promoted the recovery of learning and locomotor function in the MCAO rats. SBP up-regulated the expression of p-Akt, p-GSK3β, as well as the expression of NMDAR1, PSD-95, and AMPAR. Also, SBP down-regulated the expression of p-CaMKII. These results indicated that long-term SBP treatment might be a potential option for cognitive impairment induced by the ischemic stroke.

Current state and future perspective of cardiovascular medicines derived from natural products

The contribution of natural products (NPs) to cardiovascular medicine has been extensively documented, and many have been used for centuries. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Over the past 40 years, approximately 50% of newly developed cardiovascular drugs were based on NPs, suggesting that NPs provide essential skeletal structures for the discovery of novel medicines. After a period of lower productivity since the 1990s, NPs have recently regained scientific and commercial attention, leveraging the wealth of knowledge provided by multi-omics, combinatorial biosynthesis, synthetic biology, integrative pharmacology, analytical and computational technologies. In addition, as a crucial part of complementary and alternative medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine has increasingly drawn attention as an important source of NPs for cardiovascular drug discovery. Given their structural diversity and biological activity NPs are one of the most valuable sources of drugs and drug leads. In this review, we briefly described the characteristics and classification of NPs in CVDs. Then, we provide an up to date summary on the therapeutic potential and the underlying mechanisms of action of NPs in CVDs, and the current view and future prospect of developing safer and more effective cardiovascular drugs based on NPs.

Effects of the Suxiao Jiuxin pill on acute myocardial infarction assessed by comprehensive metabolomics

BACKGROUND

SJP is the commercial Chinese medicine included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, with well-established cardiovascular protective effects in the clinic. However, the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of SJP on cardiovascular disease have not yet been clearly elucidated.

AIMS

To investigate the underlying protective mechanisms of SJP in an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rat model using comprehensive metabolomics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The rat model of AMI was generated by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery. After 2 weeks treatment with SJP, the entire metabolic changes in the serum, heart, urine and feces of the rat were profiled by HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS.

RESULTS

The metabolic profiles in different biological samples (heart, serum, urine and feces) were significantly different among groups, in which a total of 112 metabolites were identified. AMI caused comprehensive metabolic changes in amino acid metabolism, galactose metabolism and fatty acid metabolism, while SJP reversed more than half of the differential metabolic changes, mainly affecting amino acid metabolism and fatty acid metabolism. Correlation analysis found that SJP could significantly alter the metabolic activity of 12 key metabolites, regarded as potential biomarkers of SJP treatment. According to the results of network analysis, 6 biomarkers were considered to be hub metabolites, which means that these metabolites may have a major relationship with the SJP therapeutic effects on AMI.

CONCLUSION

The combined comprehensive metabolomics and network analysis, indicated that the protective effect of SJP on cardiovascular disease was associated with systemic metabolic modulation, in particular regulation of amino acid and fatty acid metabolism.

Exploring the mechanism underlying the cardioprotective effect of shexiang baoxin pill on acute myocardial infarction rats by comprehensive metabolomics

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) is a commercial Chinese medicine included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia with well-established cardiovascular protect effect in clinic. However, the mechanism of SBP underlying protective effect on cardiovascular disease has not been clearly elucidated yet.

AIM OF THE STUDY

We aimed to investigate the underlying protective mechanisms of SBP on an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rat model by using comprehensive metabolomics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The rat model of AMI was generated by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery. After two weeks of treatment with SBP, comprehensive metabolomics and echocardiography index was performed for a therapeutic evaluation. The wiff data were processed using Progenesis QI and metabolites were identified based on the database of HMDB and LIPIDMAPS. Meanwhile, the untargeted metabolomics data from LC-MS combined with correlation analysis to characterize the metabolic alterations.

RESULTS

The metabolomics profiles of different groups in different biological samples (heart, serum, urine and feces) were significantly different, in which a total of 217 metabolites were identified. AMI caused comprehensive metabolic changes in amino acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism and pyrimidine metabolism, while SBP reversed more than half of the differential metabolic changes, mainly affecting amino acid metabolism, butanoate metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Correlation analysis found that SBP could significantly alter the metabolic activity of six key metabolites (5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, glycerophosphocholine, PS (20:4/0:0), xanthosine, adenosine and L-phenylalanine) related to AMI. The key role of these metabolites was further validated with correlation analysis with echocardiography indexes.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that SBP was effective for protecting cardiac dysfunction by regulating amino acid, lipid and energy metabolisms. The results also suggested that the modulation on gut microbiota might be involved the cardioprotective effect of SBP.

Mechanism of angiogenesis promotion with Shexiang Baoxin Pills by regulating function and signaling pathway of endothelial cells through macrophages

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

"Shexiang Baoxin Pill" (SBP), a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to treat angina, myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease in China for thirty years. SBP has been proven to promote angiogenesis in a rat model of myocardial infarction (MI). The aim of the present study was to determine the pro-angiogenic effects and mechanism of SBP during inflammation or ischemic pathological conditions and elucidate its regulatory effects on endothelial cell function and signaling pathways mediated by macrophages.

METHODS

We used a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sponge implantation mouse model as an inflammatory angiogenesis model and utilized a mouse femoral artery ligation model as a hind limb ischemia model. We also performed cell proliferation, cell migration and tubule formation in vitro experiments to assess the effects of SBP on endothelial cell function and signaling pathways by stimulating macrophage activity.

RESULTS

The in vitro experiment results showed that SBP could significantly increase the expression of mRNAs and proteins associated with angiogenesis in endothelial cells by activating macrophages to release pro-angiogenic factors such as Vegf-a. Activation of macrophages by SBP eventually led to endothelial cell proliferation, migration and tubule formation and increased the expression of p-Akt and p-Erk1/2 proteins in the downstream PI3K/Akt and MAPK/Erk1/2 signaling pathways related to angiogenesis, respectively. The in vivo experiment results indicated that SBP had angiogenesis effects in both inflammatory and ischemic angiogenesis models with dose- and time-dependent effects.

CONCLUSION

Shexiang Baoxin Pills can promote angiogenesis by activating macrophages to regulate endothelial cell function and signal transduction pathways.

Metabolomic evidence for the therapeutic effect of gentiopicroside in a corticosterone-induced model of depression

BACKGROUND

Depression is a disease that seriously threatens the quality of human life. To explore the effect of gentiopicroside on depression, this study investigated the therapeutic effect of gentiopicroside on corticosterone-induced depressionin vivo and in vitro by using metabolomic methods.

METHODS

A total of 36 rats were randomly assigned to three groups: a normal group, model group (depression), and treatment group (depression + gentiopicroside). Corticosterone was administrated to induce depression-like model rats. Morris water maze test was used to validated the behavior performance. The hippocampus of rats was obtained for metabolomic detection. Metabolites that were differentially expressed between the groups were extracted for Heatmap, Go, and pathway enrichment analyses. Finally, neuronal cells were cultured and examined to validated the effect of gentiopicroside.

RESULTS

Corticosterone injured rats learning capacity, and decreased the levels of 5-HT, and reversed by gentiopicroside delivery. Metabolites obtained from the hippocampus of rats in the three groups were subjected to a principal component analysis (PCA). Go and pathway enrichment analyses revealed the involvement of sphingolipid metabolism et al. Gentiopicroside could inhibit apoptosis caused by corticosterone, and also decrease neuronal cell proliferation and BDNF levels in vitro. Arachidonic acid (ARA) reversed the protective effect of gentiopicroside on neuronal cells.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that gentiopicroside reduces apoptosis and increases the proliferation of hippocampus cells in depressed animals by regulating metabolites. Moreover, our study provides a new basis for the clinical treatment of depression and demonstrates the potential efficacy of gentiopicroside in this area of pathology.

Shexiang Baoxin Pill, Derived From the Traditional Chinese Medicine, Provides Protective Roles Against Cardiovascular Diseases

Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP), derived from the traditional Chinese medicine, has been broadly applied for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases including coronary heart disease, heart failure, and hypertension in East Asia for decades. Emerging pharmacological studies have revealed that SBP displays pleiotropic roles in protecting the cardiovascular system, as seen by the promotion of angiogenesis, amelioration of inflammation, improvement of endothelium dysfunction, mitigation of dyslipidemia, repression of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, and migration and restraint of cardiac remodeling. In terms of clinical practice, the clinical trials and meta-analyses have proved the efficacy and safety of SBP. In this review, we, for the first time, systematically summarize the cardioprotective effects and underlying mechanisms of SBP and provide novel insights into future research directions of SBP based on the experimental and clinical perspectives.

A sensitive approach for simultaneous quantification of carbonyl and hydroxyl steroids using 96-well SPE plates based on stable isotope coded-derivatization-UPLC-MRM: method development and application

Steroid hormones are crucial substances that mediate a wide range of vital physiological functions. Because of the important biological significance of steroids, this paper presents a new targeted metabolic method based on adding stable isotope tags to hydroxyl containing and carbonyl containing steroid hormones with two pairs of synthesized derivatization reagents: deuterium 4-(dimethylamino)-benzoic acid (D₄-DMBA), and D₅-Girard P (D₅-GP) using of ultra performance liquid chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring (UPLC-MRM). Firstly, an Oasis PRiME hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) 96-well solid phase extraction plate was used to pretreat a number of biological samples simultaneously. Secondly, hydroxyl and carbonyl steroids were labeled using two pairs of synthetic reagents, namely DMBA and D₄-DMBA, and GP and D₅-GP, respectively. Thirdly, the mixed products were detected using UPLC-MRM and the mass spectroscopy conditions were optimized. Methodology development showed that the sensitivity was enhanced 1 to >500-fold. Finally, the new method was applied to analysis of urine samples of healthy males, females and rats. The results revealed that the method can be sensitive and reliable for simultaneous quantification of steroid hormones containing hydroxyl and carbonyl groups in 12 min in a single run. This method provided a powerful tool for studying the metabolic mechanism of steroids and contributed to the development of targeted metabolomics.

Steroid hormones are crucial substances that mediate a wide range of vital physiological functions.

Serum metabolomics analysis reveals that obvious cardioprotective effects of low dose Sini decoction against isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury in rats

BACKGROUND

Sini decoction (SND) is used for cardiovascular disease over thousands of years in China. However, it is still lacking of dose-response relationship of SND in cardiovascular disease at the metabolic level.

PURPOSE

The present study is designed to explore the cardioprotective effects of different dosages of SND pretreatment on the isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial injury and elucidate the mechanism underlying this protective effect.

METHODS

The cardioprotective effects of different dosages of SND pretreatment on the isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury were compared through a serum metabolomics approach based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). In addition, the cardioprotective effects were evaluated by serum biochemical analysis and histopathological examination of myocardial tissue. Finally, in view of the fact that these perturbed bile acid and phospholipid metabolisms are connected with NF-κB signaling pathway, nuclear expression of NF-κB p65 and the activation of NF-κB were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), respectively.

RESULTS

The cardioprotective effect was observed in SND pretreatment groups, especially in low dosage SND group. The results of serum enzyme activities and histopathology were consistent with the above effect. Meanwhile, fifteen latent biomarker candidates were identified involving glucose, phospholipid, bile acid and amino acid metabolisms. Among them, five bile acids including ursodeoxycholic acid, murideoxycholic acid, muricholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid, were for the first time identified as latent pathological biomarkers related to ISO-induced myocardial injury. Further, different dose SND groups exerted different of inhibition degrees to the activation of NF-κB, which was obvious in the SND-L group.

CONCLUSION

The results revealed that Sini decoction protreatment protects myocardium better at a low dose level and one of possible cardioprotective mechanisms is modulating NF-κB signaling pathway against isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury through regulating phospholipid and bile acid metabolisms.

Metabolic responses of the growing Daphnia similis to chronic AgNPs exposure as revealed by GC-Q-TOF/MS and LC-Q-TOF/MS

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are one of the most widely used nanomaterials. Their fast-growing utilization has increased the occurrence of AgNPs in the environment, posing potential health and ecological risks. In this study, we conducted chronic toxicity tests and investigated the metabolic changes of the growing Daphna similis with exposure to 0, 0.02, and 1 ppb AgNPs, using non-targeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report the baseline metabolite change of a common aquatic organism Daphnia crustacean through its life-cycle. The results show a dynamic kinetic pattern of the growing Daphnia's metabolome underwent a cycle from day 0 to day 21, with the level of metabolites gradually increasing from day 0 to day 13, before falling back to the baseline level of day 0 on day 21. As for the samples exposed to environmental concentrations of AgNPs, although without morphological or structural changes, numerous metabolite changes occurred abruptly during the first 10 days, and these changes reached steady state by day 13. The significant changes in certain metabolites, such as amino acids (serine, threonine and tyrosine), sugars (d-allose) and fatty acids (arachidonic acid) revealed new insights into how these metabolites in Daphnia respond to chronic AgNPs stress. These findings highlight the capability of metabolomics to discover early metabolic responses to environmental silver nanoparticles.

A network-based method for mechanistic investigation of Shexiang Baoxin Pill's treatment of cardiovascular diseases

Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, is commonly used to treat cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China. However, the complexity of composition and targets has deterred our understanding of its mechanism of action. Using network pharmacology-based approaches, we established the mechanism of action for SBP to treat CVD by analyzing protein-protein interactions and pathways. The computational results were confirmed at the gene expression level in microarray-based studies. Two of the SBP’s targets were further confirmed at the protein level by Western blot. In addition, we validated the theory that SBP’s plasma absorbed compounds play major therapeutic role in treating CVD.

Prevention of AMI Induced Ventricular Remodeling: Inhibitory Effects of Heart-Protecting Musk Pill on IL-6 and TNF-Alpha

Heart-Protecting Musk Pill (HMP) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has been used for the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease in clinic. The current study investigated the effect of HMP on the concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and observed the relationship between level changes of inflammatory cytokines and ventricular remodeling in rats with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Animal models of AMI were made by coronary artery ligation in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. AMI rats showed increased levels of IL-6 and TNF-α. Treatment with HMP decreases IL-6 and TNF-α concentrations in rats with AMI. Histopathological and transmission electron microscopic findings were also essentially in agreement with biochemical findings. The results of our study revealed that inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α induce cardiac remodeling in rats after AMI; HMP improves cardiac function and ameliorates ventricular remodeling by downregulating the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α and further suppressing the ultrastructural changes of myocardial cells.

Metabolomics and its application to the evaluation of the efficacy and toxicity of traditional Chinese herb medicines

Traditional Chinese herb medicines (TCHMs) have been used in the treatment of a variety of diseases for thousands of years in Asian countries. The active components of TCHMs usually exert combined synergistic therapeutic effects on multiple targets, but with less potential therapeutic effect based on routine indices than Western drugs. These complex effects make the assessment of the efficacy of TCHMs and the clarification of their underlying mechanisms very challenging, and therefore hinder their wider application and acceptance. Metabolomics is a crucial part of systems biology. It allows the quantitative measurement of large numbers of the low-molecular endogenous metabolites involved in metabolic pathways, and thus reflects the fundamental metabolism status of the body. Recently, dozens of metabolomic studies have been devoted to prove the efficacy/safety, explore the underlying mechanisms, and identify the potential biomarkers to access the action targets of TCHMs, with fruitful results. This article presents an overview of these studies, focusing on the progress made in exploring the pharmacology and toxicology of various herbal medicines.

Metabolomic study on the faecal extracts of atherosclerosis mice and its application in a Traditional Chinese Medicine

The intestinal microbiota and their metabolites are closely related to the formation of atherosclerosis (AS). In this study, a metabolomic approach based on the reversed-phase liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS) platform was established to analyze the metabolic profiling of fecal extracts from AS mice model. The established metabolomic platform was also used for clearing the effective mechanism of a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) named Sishen granule (SSKL). Totally, sixteen potential biomarkers in faeces of AS mice were identified and 5 of them could be reversed by SSKL. Through functional analysis of these biomarkers and the established network, lipid metabolism, cholesterol metabolism, energy cycle, and inflammation reaction were considered as the most relevant pathological changes in gastrointestinal tract of AS mice. The metabolomic study not only revealed the potential biomarkers in AS mice' faeces but also supplied a systematic view of the pathological changes in gastrointestinal metabolite in AS mice. This metabolomic study also demonstrated that SSKL had the therapeutic effectiveness on AS through partly reversing the lipid metabolism, inflammation and energy metabolism.

A metabolomics approach to studying the effects of Jinxin oral liquid on RSV-infected mice using UPLC/LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Jinxin oral liquid (JOL) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula modified from ma-xing-shi-gan-tang, an ancient formula widely used in the treatment of respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and asthma. In our previous studies, JOL was shown to safely and effectively treat viral pneumonia, especially that involving respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

AIM OF THE STUDY

To investigate the mechanism of the effect of JOL in RSV infected mice, using a metabolomics approach based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion trap quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC/LTQ-Orbitrap-MS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

BALB/c mice were divided into four groups, the control group (saline inoculation/no treatment), RSV group (RSV inoculation/saline treatment), RSV+JOL group (RSV inoculation/JOL treatment), and RSV+Riba group (RSV inoculation/ribavirin treatment). Plasma and lung tissue samples were collected 7 days after the inoculation/treatment protocols, and UPLC/LTQ-Orbitrap-MS method based on metabolomics was developed. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were utilized to identify biomarkers potentially associated with the anti-RSV activity of JOL.

RESULTS

JOL was associated with reduced inflammatory responses in RSV-infected lung tissue. The combination of PCA and OPLS-DA revealed deviations in 11 biomarkers in plasma, and 16 biomarkers in lung tissue induced by RSV that were corrected with JOL treatment. These biomarkers were primarily components of metabolic pathways involving glycerophosphocholines, sphingolipids, and glycerolipids. JOL was able to restore the abnormal levels of these biomarkers detected in the plasma and lung tissue of RSV-infected mice to approximately normal levels.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggested that JOL can treat RSV pneumonia effectively, partially by ameliorating the associated disturbances to lipid metabolism. The results provided insight into the anti-RSV mechanism of JOL, and also demonstrated that metabolomics is a valuable tool for investigating the efficacy of TCM treatment for RSV pneumonia, and the associated biomarkers involved.

The application of metabolomics in traditional Chinese medicine opens up a dialogue between Chinese and Western medicine

Metabolomics provides an opportunity to develop the systematic analysis of the metabolites and has been applied to discovering biomarkers and perturbed pathways which can clarify the action mechanism of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM). TCM is a comprehensive system of medical practice that has been used to diagnose, treat and prevent illnesses more than 3000 years. Metabolomics represents a powerful approach that provides a dynamic picture of the phenotype of biosystems through the study of endogenous metabolites, and its methods resemble those of TCM. Recently, metabolomics tools have been used for facilitating interactional effects of both Western medicine and TCM. We describe a protocol for investigating how metabolomics can be used to open up 'dialogue' between Chinese and Western medicine, and facilitate lead compound discovery and development from TCM. Metabolomics will bridge the cultural gap between TCM and Western medicine and improve development of integrative medicine, and maximally benefiting the human.

A metabonomic study of cardioprotection of ginsenosides, schizandrin, and ophiopogonin D against acute myocardial infarction in rats

Background

Metabonomics is a useful tool for studying mechanisms of drug treatment using systematic metabolite profiles. Ginsenosides Rg1 and Rb1, ophiopogonin D, and schizandrin are the main bioactive components of a traditional Chinese formula (Sheng-Mai San) widely used for the treatment of coronary heart disease. It remains unknown the effect of individual bioactive component and how the multi-components in combination affect the treating acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods

Rats were divided into 7 groups and dosed consecutively for 7 days with mono and combined-therapy administrations. Serum samples were analyzed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy. Partial least squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) was employed to distinguish the metabolic profile of rats in different groups and identify potential biomarkers.

Results

Score plots of PLS-DA exhibited that combined-therapy groups were significantly different from AMI group, whereas no differences were observed for mono-therapy groups. We found that AMI caused comprehensive metabolic changes involving stimulation of glycolysis, suppression of fatty acid oxidation, together with disturbed metabolism of arachidonic acid, linoleate, leukotriene, glycerophospholipid, phosphatidylinositol phosphate, and some amino acids. β-hydroxybutyrate, cholines and glucose were regulated by mono-therapy of schizandrin and ginsenosides respectively. Besides these metabolites, combined-therapy ameliorated more of the AMI-induced metabolic changes including glycerol, and O-acetyl glycoprotein. A remarkable reduction of lactate suggested the therapeutic effect of combined-therapy through improving myocardial energy metabolism.

Conclusions

This study provided novel metabonomic insights on the mechanism of synergistic cardioprotection of combined-therapy with ginsenosides, schizandrin, and ophiopogonin D, and demonstrated the potential of discovering new drugs by combining bioactive components from traditional Chinese formula.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1472-6882-14-350) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The effectiveness of borneol on pharmacokinetics changes of four ginsenosides in Shexiang Baoxin Pill in vivo

Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) is a traditional Chinese medicine, widely used for cardiovascular diseases in the clinic. Ginsenosides are important effective components in SBP, but their pharmacokinetic characteristics are still not known. In this paper, we studied the pharmacokinetics of ginsenoside Rb1, Rc, Re and Rg1 in SBP and investigated the effect of borneol on the pharmacokinetic characteristic of ginsenosides based on an Agilent G6410A triple quadrupole LC/MS system. Results showed that the pharmacokinetic parameters of ginsenoside Rb1, Rc, Re and Rg1 in rat plasma after oral administration of SBP are significantly different with oral administration of SBP without Borneolum Syntheticum. Plasma pharmacokinetic profiles after oral administration of ginsenoside Rb1, Rc, Re, Rg1 and co-administration with borneol at three different ratios (10:1, 1:1 and 1:10 ginsenoside vs borneol, w/w) were also determined. It was demonstrated that borneol can elevate the plasma concentration of ginsenosides after co-admininstration.

Analysis of Therapeutic Effect of Ilex hainanensis Merr. Extract on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease through Urine Metabolite Profiling by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography/Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common form of chronic liver disease, is increased worldwide in parallel with the obesity epidemic. Our previous studies have showed that the extract of I. hainanensis (EIH) can prevent NAFLD in rat fed with high-fat diet. In this work, we aimed to find biomarkers of NAFLD and investigate the therapeutic effects of EIH. NAFLD model was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by high-fat diet. The NAFLD rats were administered EIH orally (250 mg/kg) for two weeks. After the experimental period, samples of 24 h urine were collected and analyzed by ultraperformance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF). Orthogonal partial least squares analysis (OPLSs) models were built to find biomarkers of NAFLD and investigate the therapeutic effects of EIH. 22 metabolites, which are distributed in several metabolic pathways, were identified as potential biomarkers of NAFLD. Taking these biomarkers as screening indexes, EIH could reverse the pathological process of NAFLD through regulating the disturbed pathway of metabolism. The metabolomic results not only supply a systematic view of the development and progression of NAFLD but also provide a theoretical basis for the prevention or treatment of NAFLD.

12S-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid levels link to coronary artery disease in Type 2 diabetic patients

BACKGROUND

12(S)-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12(S)-HETE) is a metabolite of arachidonic acid. 12(S)-HETE is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and diabetes. However, the correlation between 12(S)-HETE and coronary artery disease (CAD) in the diabetic patient is unclear.

AIMS

The study investigated the relationship between 12(S)-HETE and CAD in Type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

Plasma 12(S)- HETE levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 103 healthy controls (control), 109 diabetic patients without CAD (diabetic), and 152 diabetic patients with CAD (diabetic-CAD).

RESULTS

12(S)-HETE levels were higher in both diabetic and diabetic-CAD groups compared to control and in the diabetic-CAD group compared to the diabetic group. In the multiple linear stepwise regression analysis, 12(S)-HETE levels correlated independently with CAD, systolic blood pressure, and glycated hemoglobin.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that 12(S)-HETE levels are increased in diabetic patients with CAD, suggesting a role for atherosclerosis in T2D.

Add-on effect of chinese herbal medicine on mortality in myocardial infarction: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

In China, Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is widely used as an adjunct to biomedicine (BM) in treating myocardial infarction (MI). This meta-analysis of RCTs evaluated the efficacy of combined CHM-BM in the treatment of MI, compared to BM alone. Sixty-five RCTs (12,022 patients) of moderate quality were identified. 6,036 patients were given CHM plus BM, and 5,986 patients used BM only. Combined results showed clear additional effect of CHM-BM treatment in reducing all-cause mortality (relative risk reduction (RRR) = 37%, 95% CI = 28%-45%, I(2) = 0.0%) and mortality of cardiac origin (RRR = 39%, 95% CI = 22%-52%, I(2) = 22.8). Benefits remained after random-effect trim and fill adjustment for publication bias (adjusted RRR for all-cause mortality = 29%, 95% CI = 16%-40%; adjusted RRR for cardiac death = 32%, 95% CI = 15%-46%). CHM is also found to be efficacious in lowering the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiogenic shock, cardiac arrhythmia, myocardial reinfarction, heart failure, angina, and occurrence of total heart events. In conclusion, addition of CHM is very likely to be able to improve survival of MI patients who are already receiving BM. Further confirmatory evaluation via large blinded randomized trials is warranted.