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Zhang K, Sun L, Zhang W, Cao M, Ma X, Yu BY, Xu H, Zheng X, Tian J. Discovery of Natural Products Alleviating Renal Fibrosis with a Viscosity-Responsive Molecular Probe. Anal Chem 2024; 96:6356-6365. [PMID: 38588440 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c00188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Renal fibrosis poses a significant threat to individuals suffering from chronic progressive kidney disease. Given the absence of effective medications for treating renal fibrosis, it becomes crucial to assess the extent of fibrosis in real time and explore the development of novel drugs with substantial therapeutic benefits. Due to the accumulation of renal tissue damage and the uncontrolled deposition of fibrotic matrix during the course of the disease, there is an increase in viscosity both intracellularly and extracellularly. Therefore, a viscosity-sensitive near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging probe, BDP-KY, was developed to detect aberrant changes in viscosity during fibrosis. Furthermore, BDP-KY has been applied to screen the effective components of herbal medicine, rhubarb, resulting in the identification of potential antirenal fibrotic compounds such as emodin-8-glucoside and chrysophanol 8-O-glucoside. Ultrasound, PA, and NIRF imaging of a unilateral uretera obstruction mice model show that different concentrations of emodin-8-glucoside and chrysophanol 8-O-glucoside effectively reduce viscosity levels during the renal fibrosis process. The histological results showed a significant decrease in fibrosis factors α-smooth muscle actin and collagen deposition. Combining these findings with their pharmacokinetic characteristics, these compounds have the potential to fill the current market gap for effective antirenal fibrosis drugs. This study demonstrates the potential of BDP-KY in the evaluation of renal fibrosis, and the two identified active components from rhubarb hold great promise for the treatment of renal fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiyu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of TCM Evaluation and Translational Research, School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Lei Sun
- Jiangsu Co-innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Key Lab of Biomass-based Green Fuels and Chemicals, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Wangning Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of TCM Evaluation and Translational Research, School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Mingyuan Cao
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Manipulation, Institute of Nanophotonics, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China
| | - Xiaonan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of TCM Evaluation and Translational Research, School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Bo-Yang Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of TCM Evaluation and Translational Research, School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Haijun Xu
- Jiangsu Co-innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Key Lab of Biomass-based Green Fuels and Chemicals, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Xianchuang Zheng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Manipulation, Institute of Nanophotonics, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China
| | - Jiangwei Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of TCM Evaluation and Translational Research, School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
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Quan S, Wen M, Xu P, Chu C, Zhang H, Yang K, Tong S. Efficient screening of pancreatic lipase inhibitors from Rheum palmatum by affinity ultrafiltration-high-performance liquid chromatography combined with high-resolution inhibition profiling. PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS : PCA 2024; 35:540-551. [PMID: 38053479 DOI: 10.1002/pca.3311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Pancreatic lipase is one of the most important key targets in the treatment of obesity. Inhibition of pancreatic lipase can effectively reduce lipid absorption and treat obesity and other related metabolic disorders. OBJECTIVES The goal of this study is the efficient screening of pancreatic lipase inhibitors in the root and rhizome of Rheum palmatum using affinity ultrafiltration-high-performance liquid chromatography (AUF-HPLC) combined with high-resolution inhibition profiling (HRIP). METHODS Potential pancreatic lipase ligands and pancreatic lipase inhibitors in ethyl acetate fraction of R. palmatum were screened using AUF-HPLC and HRIP, respectively. All screened compounds were identified by HPLC- quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF)/MS. Eight compounds were screened out by both AUF-HPLC and HRIP, and six compounds were screened out by either AUF-HPLC or HRIP alone. The pancreatic lipase inhibitory activities of all screened compounds were verified by enzyme inhibition assay and molecular docking. RESULTS Five new potent pancreatic lipase inhibitors were discovered, namely procyanidin B5 3,3'-di-O-gallate (IC50 = 0.06 ± 0.01 μM), 1,6-di-O-galloyl-2-O-cinnamoyl-β-D-glucoside (IC50 = 12.83 ± 0.67 μM), 1-O-(1,3,5-trihydroxy)phenyl-2-O-galloyl-6-O-cinnamoyl-β-D-glucoside (IC50 = 17.84 ± 1.33 μM), 1,2-di-O-galloyl-6-O-cinnamoyl-β-D-glucoside (IC50 = 18.39 ± 1.52 μM), and 4-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone-4'-O-β-D-(2"-O-galloyl-6"-O-cinnamoyl)-glucoside (IC50 = 2.91 ± 0.40 μM). It was found that procyanidin B5 3,3'-di-O-gallate showed higher pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity than the positive control orlistat (IC50 = 0.12 ± 0.02 μM). CONCLUSION The combination of affinity ultrafiltration-high-performance liquid chromatography (AUF-HPLC) and high-resolution inhibition profiling (HRIP) could reduce the risk of false-negative screening and missed screening and could achieve more efficient screening of bioactive compounds in complex natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihua Quan
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Huzhou, China
| | - Mengyi Wen
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Huzhou, China
| | - Ping Xu
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Huzhou, China
| | - Chu Chu
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Huzhou, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Huzhou, China
| | - Kai Yang
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Huzhou, China
| | - Shengqiang Tong
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Huzhou, China
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Liu Y, Wang X, Sheng Y, Jin H, Han L, Xu J, Fu Q, Liu J, Ji F, Ding H, Xu X, Wu K, Zhang P, Wang G. Recurrence of macular edema in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion: a proteomic study. BMC Ophthalmol 2024; 24:82. [PMID: 38388341 PMCID: PMC10882909 DOI: 10.1186/s12886-024-03359-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) is a common retinal vascular disease leading to severe vision loss and blindness. This study aimed to investigate and reveal the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying macular edema (ME) recurrence in patients with BRVO through a proteomic approach. METHODS We detected proteins in the aqueous humor of 14 untreated, four refractory, and four post-operative patients with BRVO-ME and 12 age-matched cataract controls using four-dimensional label-free proteomic and bioinformatics analyses. RESULTS In total, 84 proteins exhibited significant differential expression between the BRVO and control samples (fold change [FC] ≥ 1.2 and adjusted p-value < 0.05). Compared to the control group, 43 and 41 proteins were upregulated and downregulated, respectively, in the BRVO group. These proteins were involved in cell adhesion, visual perception, retina homeostasis, and platelet activation. Several significantly enriched signaling pathways included complement and coagulation cascades and platelet activation. In the protein-protein interaction networks generated using the search tool for retrieval of interacting genes (STRING), the fibrinogen alpha chain and fibrinogen beta chain constituted a tightly connected cluster. Many common protein expression trends, such as the fibrinogen alpha chain and fibrinogen beta chain, were observed in both the recurrent and refractory groups. Differentially expressed proteins in the two groups were involved in complement activation, acute-phase response, platelet activation, and platelet aggregation. Important signaling pathways include the complement and coagulation cascades, and platelet activation. Protein-protein interaction analysis suggested that the fibrinogen alpha chain and fibrinogen beta chain constituted a tightly connected cluster. The expression of some differentially expressed proteins shared by the BRVO and the recurrent and refractory groups was reversed in the post-operative group. CONCLUSIONS Our study is the first to analyze the proteomics of recurrent, refractory, and post-operative groups treated for BRVO-ME, and may potentially provide novel therapeutic interventions for the recurrence of ME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Liu
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Xiaohu Wang
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Yonghong Sheng
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Haili Jin
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Linfeng Han
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Jun Xu
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Qingqing Fu
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Jing Liu
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Feng Ji
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - He Ding
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Xiaochen Xu
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - KunChao Wu
- Department of Ophthalmology, First People's Hospital of Guiyang, Guiyang, China.
| | - Pengfei Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College (Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College), Wuhu, China.
| | - Guoping Wang
- Wuhu Eye Hospital, No. 378, Santan Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China.
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Huang W, Rao Y, Li L, Li C, An Y. Clinical effect of rhubarb on the treatment of chronic renal failure: A meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1108861. [PMID: 37153797 PMCID: PMC10157189 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1108861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: 1) To evaluate the effificacy of rhubarb in the treatment of chronic renal failure (CRF); 2) To explore the safety for rhubarb-based therapy on chronic renal failure. Methods: The randomized and semi randomized controlled trials of Rhubarb in the treatment of chronic renal failure in medical electronic databases (up to September 2021) were searched, and meta-analysis was carried out by revman 5.3 software. Results: A total of 2,786 patients were included in 34 literatures, including 1,474 cases in the treatment group and 1,312 cases in the control group. The results of meta-analysis showed that Serum creatinine (SCR) [MD = 123.57, 95% Cl (111.59, 131.96)], Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) [MD = -3.26, 95% Cl (-4.22,-2.31)], Creatinine clearance rate (CCR) [MD = 3.95, 95% Cl (-0.03, 7.93)], Hemoglobin (Hb) [MD = 7.70, 95% Cl (-0.18, 15.58)] and Uric acid (UA) [MD = -42.79, 95% CI (-66.29, -19.29)]. The total effective rate of improving symptoms and signs in chronic renal failure patients [Peto or = 4.14, 95% Cl (3.32, 5.16)]. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that rhubarb has a positive therapeutic effect, which may provide confifidence and some theoretical reference for clinical application to a certain extent. Compared with the control group, rhubarb alone or traditional Chinese medicine compound containing Rhubarb can significantly reduce Serum creatinine, Blood urea nitrogen and Uric acid, increase Creatinine clearance rate, and improve the total effective rate of symptoms and signs. However, there is no evidence that rhubarb is more effective than the control group in increasing hemoglobin. In addition, due to the low quality of research methodology in the included literature, it is necessary to further study high-quality literature to evaluate its efficacy and safety. Systematic Review Registration: https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2021-10-0052/, identifier INPLASY2021100052.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Huang
- Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
- Wuhan Third Hospital, Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | | | - Liang Li
- Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
- The Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Provincial Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
| | - Chengyin Li
- Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
- The Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Provincial Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Chengyin Li, ; Yi An,
| | - Yi An
- TCM Department, Second Wuhan University of Science and Technology Hospital, Wuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Chengyin Li, ; Yi An,
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Li Y, Ye Z, He H, Hu Y, Wu M, Li L, Chen L, Qian H, Shi Q, Zhang C, Yu H, Zhao Q, Liu X, Qin K, Ye Q. The application of Tong-fu therapeutic method on ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis for efficacy and safety of rhubarb-based therapy. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:1036593. [DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1036593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Tong-fu therapeutic method (TFTM) is a traditional Chinese medicine treatment method for ulcerative colitis, which is a novel treatment strategies and have purgative effect. As the most representative medicinal of TFTM, Rhubarb has been reported to have a therapeutic impact on ulcerative colitis by regulating intestinal flora, anti-inflammation, and improving intestinal microcirculation. Although rhubarb has been widely used in Chinese medicine for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, the appropriate protocol is still demanded to its rational use in clinic, which promoted to evaluate the efficacy and safety for rhubarb-based therapy on ulcerative colitis.Method: Clinical trials were searched through PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Excerpta Medica Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, WAN FANG Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. The subgroup analyses were performed with three groups: medication, course of treatment, and route of administration. The statistical analyses were performed on Review Manager software (version 5.4.1).Results: A total of 2, 475 patients in 30 original studies were analyzed in this article. It was found that rhubarb-based therapy could increase clinical efficacy and reduce the recurrence rate. Subgroup analyses showed that rhubarb-based therapy was more effective than 5-aminosalicylic acid or sulfasalazine alone. In addition, the hypercoagulable state of ulcerative colitis could be ameliorated by decreasing platelet (PLT) and fibrinogen (FIB), and increasing prothrombin time (PT) significantly. Moreover, C-reaction protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and IL-1β expression were significantly reduced, while IL-10 production was increased, which mediated the alleviation of intestinal inflammation stress.Conclusion: Rhubarb-based therapy could effectively improve ulcerative colitis. Of note, the rhubarb-based medicinal formulas combined with 5-ASA or SASP are more effective than the 5-ASA or SASP alone. In addition, although rhubarb has side effect, the results of our analysis showed that rhubarb-based therapy did not exhibit significant side effects. This means it has a high safety profile in clinical use. Moreover, the use of rhubarb-based therapy is recommend to use within 1–13 weeks or 3 months via administered orally or by enema, which is contributes to ensure the curative effect and avoid its toxic and side effects. As an important case of TFTM, rhubarb-based therapy provides evidence for the practical application of TFTM.
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Decoding the Mechanism of CheReCunJin Formula in Treating Sjögren’s Syndrome Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2022; 2022:1193846. [PMID: 36248435 PMCID: PMC9553462 DOI: 10.1155/2022/1193846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Background Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by progressive oral and ocular dryness that correlates poorly with autoimmune damage to the glands. CheReCunJin (CRCJ) formula is a prescription formulated according to the Chinese medicine theory for SS treatment. Objective This study aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms of CRCJ against SS. Methods The databases, including Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology, Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for the molecular mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Databases, obtained the active ingredients and predicted targets of CRCJ. Then, DrugBank, Therapeutic Target Database, Genecards, Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, and DisGeNET disease databases were used to screen the predicted targets of SS. Intersected targets of CRCJ and SS were visualized by using Venn diagrams. The overlapping targets were uploaded to the protein–protein interaction network analysis search tool. Cytoscape 3.8.2 software constructed a “compound-targets-disease” network. Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses characterized potential targets' biological functions and pathways. AutoDock Vina 1.1.2 software was used to research and verify chemical effective drug components and critical targets. Results From the database, we identified 878 active components and 2578 targets of CRCJ, and 827 SS-related targets. 246 SS-related genes in CRCJ were identified by intersection analysis, and then ten hub genes were identified as crucial potential targets from PPI, including ALB, IL-6, TNF, INS, AKT1, IL1B, VEGFA, TP53, JUN, and TLR4. The process of CRCJ action against SS was mainly involved in human cytomegalovirus infection and Th17 cell differentiation, as well as the toll-like receptor signaling and p53 signaling pathways. Molecular docking showed that the bioactive compounds of CRCJ had a good binding affinity with hub targets. Conclusions The results showed that CRCJ could activate multiple pathways and treat SS through multiple compounds and targets. This study lays a foundation for better elucidation of the molecular mechanism of CRCJ in the treatment of SS, and also provides basic guidance for future research on Chinese herbal compounds.
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Investigating the Role of Dahuang in Hepatoma Treatment Using Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking, and Survival Analysis. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 2022:5975223. [PMID: 35872841 PMCID: PMC9307382 DOI: 10.1155/2022/5975223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Hepatoma is one of the most common malignant tumors. The incidence rate is high in developing countries, and China has the most significant number of cases. Dahuang is a classic traditional antitumor drug commonly used in China and has also been applied to treat hepatoma. However, the potential mechanism of Dahuang in treating hepatoma is not clear. Therefore, this study is aimed at elucidating the possible molecular mechanism and key targets of Dahuang using methods of network pharmacology, molecular docking, and survival analysis. Firstly, the active ingredients and key targets of Dahuang were analyzed through public databases, and then the drug-ingredient-target-disease network diagram of Dahuang against hepatoma was constructed. Five main active components and five core targets were determined according to the enrichment degree. Enrichment analysis demonstrated that Dahuang treated hepatoma through the multiple pathways in cancer. Additionally, molecular docking predicted that aloe-emodin and PIK3CG depicted the best binding energy. Survival analysis indicated that a high/ESR1 gene expression had a relatively good prognosis for patients with hepatoma (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the current study results demonstrated that Dahuang could treat hepatoma through a variety of active ingredients, targets, and multiantitumor pathways. Moreover, it effectively improved the prognosis of hepatoma patients. ESR1 is the potential key gene that is beneficial for the survival of hepatoma patients. Also, aloe-emodin and beta-sitosterol are the two main active crucial ingredients for hepatoma treatment. The study also provided some functional bases and references for the development of new drugs, target mining, and experimental animal research of hepatoma in the future.
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Zhang YR, Liu YR, Tang ZS, Song ZX, Zhang JW, Chang BJ, Zhao ML, Xu J. Rheum officinale Baill. Treats zebrafish embryo thrombosis by regulating NOS3 expression in the arginine biosynthesis pathway. PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2022; 99:153967. [PMID: 35182903 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2022.153967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rheum officinale Baill. (ROB), as one of the traditional Chinese medicines for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, has a wide range of pharmacological effects, such as cardiovascular protection, and has become a common drug in the clinical care of thrombosis. OBJECTIVE Although there are some pharmacological studies on ROB in the treatment of thrombotic diseases, the mechanism and material basis are still unclear. Based on the arginine biosynthesis signalling pathway, this research explored the target proteins and metabolites related to the intervention of ROB in thrombosis and expounded on the antithrombotic mechanism of ROB from the comprehensive perspectives of target prediction, intermediate metabolites and potential metabolic pathways. METHODS In this research, ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) technology was used to qualitatively detect the chemical compounds of ROB, and the antithrombotic activity of ROB was evaluated by establishing a zebrafish model. The target function was predicted by network pharmacology, and differential metabolites were screened by metabolomics and multivariate statistical analysis methods. Correlation analysis of network pharmacology and metabolomics screening results was conducted to identify the potential pathway of ROB intervention in thrombosis, and the prediction results were further verified. RESULTS ROB significantly reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) staining intensity in zebrafish induced by phenylhydrazine (PHZ) and improved the inhibition rate of thrombosis. By constructing the "herb-disease-component-target" network, it was concluded that the active ingredients of ROB in treating thrombosis involved emodin, aloe-emodin and physcion, and the key targets included nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) and nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3). A total of 341 differential metabolites in zebrafish with thrombosis were screened by partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The results of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) experiments and targeted metabolomics verification showed that ROB was mainly involved in improving thrombosis by upregulating the expression of NOS3 mRNA and regulating the levels of arginine, glutamate and glutamine in the arginine biosynthesis pathway. CONCLUSIONS ROB improved thrombosis by regulating the expression of NOS3 mRNA and the contents of arginine, glutamate and glutamine in the arginine biosynthesis signalling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Ru Zhang
- Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of New Drugs and Chinese Medicine Foundation Research, Shaanxi Collaborative Innovation Center Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang 712083, PR China
| | - Yan-Ru Liu
- Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of New Drugs and Chinese Medicine Foundation Research, Shaanxi Collaborative Innovation Center Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang 712083, PR China.
| | - Zhi-Shu Tang
- Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of New Drugs and Chinese Medicine Foundation Research, Shaanxi Collaborative Innovation Center Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang 712083, PR China; Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, PR China.
| | - Zhong-Xing Song
- Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of New Drugs and Chinese Medicine Foundation Research, Shaanxi Collaborative Innovation Center Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang 712083, PR China.
| | - Jun-Wei Zhang
- Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of New Drugs and Chinese Medicine Foundation Research, Shaanxi Collaborative Innovation Center Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang 712083, PR China
| | - Bai-Jin Chang
- Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of New Drugs and Chinese Medicine Foundation Research, Shaanxi Collaborative Innovation Center Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang 712083, PR China; Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun 130117, PR China
| | - Meng-Li Zhao
- Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of New Drugs and Chinese Medicine Foundation Research, Shaanxi Collaborative Innovation Center Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang 712083, PR China
| | - Jin Xu
- Zhenba County Baihuagu Modern Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Development Co., Ltd., Hanzhong 723000, PR China
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Zeng Z, Hu J, Jiang J, Xiao G, Yang R, Li S, Li Y, Huang H, Zhong H, Bi X. Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking-Based Prediction of the Mechanism of Qianghuo Shengshi Decoction against Rheumatoid Arthritis. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 2021:6623912. [PMID: 34527739 PMCID: PMC8437630 DOI: 10.1155/2021/6623912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 07/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Qianghuo Shengshi decoction (QHSSD) is a classical Chinese medicine formula, which is used in clinical practice for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in China. However, the pharmacological mechanism of QHSSD on RA has remained unclear by now. We collected and screened active compounds and its potential targets by the pharmacology platform of Chinese herbal medicines. In addition, the therapeutic targets of RA were obtained and selected from databases. Network construction analyzed that 128 active compounds may act on 87 candidate targets and identified a total of 18 hub targets. GO annotation and KEGG enrichment investigated that the action mechanism underlying the treatment of RA by QHSSD might be involved in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, anti-inflammation, and antioxidation. Finally, molecular docking verification showed that TP53, VEGFA, TNF, EGFR, and NOS3 may be related to the RA treatment and molecular dynamics simulation showed the stability of protein-ligand interactions. In this work, QHSSD might exert therapeutic effect through a multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway in RA from a holistic aspect, which provides basis for its mechanism of action and subsequent experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihao Zeng
- School of the Fifth Clinical Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, China
| | - Jiaoting Hu
- Artemisinin Research Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, China
| | - Jieyi Jiang
- Guangdong Province Engineering and Technology Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research and Development in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
| | - Guanlin Xiao
- Guangdong Province Engineering and Technology Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research and Development in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
| | - Ruipei Yang
- School of the Fifth Clinical Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, China
| | - Sumei Li
- Guangdong Province Engineering and Technology Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research and Development in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
| | - Yangxue Li
- Guangdong Province Engineering and Technology Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research and Development in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
| | - Huajing Huang
- School of the Fifth Clinical Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, China
| | - Huixian Zhong
- School of the Fifth Clinical Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, China
| | - Xiaoli Bi
- School of the Fifth Clinical Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, China
- Guangdong Province Engineering and Technology Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research and Development in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510095, China
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