An integrated study of metabolomics and transcriptomics to reveal the anti-primary dysmenorrhea mechanism of Akebiae Fructus

Effect of photobiomodulation on alleviating primary dysmenorrhea caused by PGF2α

Photobiomodulation (PBM) has attracted widespread attention in suppressing various pain and inflammation. Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) primarily occurs in adolescents and adult females, and the limited effectiveness and side effects of conventional treatments have highlighted the urgent need to develop and identify new adjunct therapeutic strategies. In this work, the results of pain and PGs demonstrated that 850 nm, 630 nm, and 460 nm all exhibited pain inhibition, decreased PGF2α and upregulated PGE2, while 630 nm PBM has better effectiveness. Then to explore the underlying biological mechanisms of red light PBM on PD, we irradiated prostaglandin-F2α induced HUSM cells and found that low-level irradiance can restore intracellular calcium ion, ROS, ATP, and MMP levels to normal levels. And, red light enhanced cell viability and promoted cell proliferation for normal HUSM cells. Therefore, this study proposes that red light PBM may be a promising approach for the future clinical treatment of PD.

A Systematic Study of Yiqi Qubai Standard Decoction for Treating Vitiligo Based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MS Combined with Chemometrics, Molecular Docking, and Cellular and Zebrafish Assays

The Yiqi Qubai (YQ) formula is a hospital preparation for treating vitiligo in China that has had reliable efficacy for decades. The formula consists of four herbs; however, the extraction process to produce the formula is obsolete and the active ingredients and mechanisms remain unknown. Therefore, in this paper, fingerprints were combined with the chemometrics method to screen high-quality herbs for the preparation of the YQ standard decoction (YQD). Then, the YQD preparation procedure was optimized using response surface methodology. A total of 44 chemical constituents, as well as 36 absorption components (in rat plasma) of YQD, were identified via UPLC-Q-TOF/MS. Based on the ingredients, the quality control system of YQD was optimized by establishing the SPE-UPLC-Q-TOF/MS identification method and the HPLC quantification method. Network pharmacological analysis and molecular docking showed that carasinaurone, calycosin-7-O-β-d-glucoside, methylnissolin-3-O-glucoside, genkwanin, akebia saponin D, formononetin, akebia saponin B, and apigenin may be the key active components for treating vitiligo; the core targets associated with them were AKT1, MAPK1, and mTOR, whereas the related pathways were the PI3K-Akt, MAPK, and FoxO signaling pathways. Cellular assays showed that YQD could promote melanogenesis and tyrosinase activity, as well as the transcription and expression of tyrosinase-associated proteins (i.e., TRP-1) in B16F10 cells. In addition, YQD also increased extracellular tyrosinase activity. Further efficacy validation showed that YQD significantly promotes melanin production in zebrafish. These may be the mechanisms by which YQD improves the symptoms of vitiligo. This is the first systematic study of the YQ formula that has optimized the standard decoction preparation method and investigated the active ingredients, quality control, efficacy, and mechanisms of YQD. The results of this study lay the foundations for the clinical application and further development of the YQ formula.

Mechanism and Pharmacodynamic Substance Basis of Raw and Wine-Processed Evodia rutaecarpa on Smooth Muscle Cells of Dysmenorrhea Mice

Objectives

Evodia rutaecarpa (ER) is a well-known herbal Chinese medicine traditionally used for analgesia in dysmenorrhea, headaches, abdominal pain, etc. Notably, the analgesic effect of wine-processed Evodia rutaecarpa (PER) was more potent than that of raw ER. This research aimed to investigate the mechanism and pharmacodynamic substance basis of raw ER and PER on smooth muscle cells of dysmenorrhea mice.

Methods

Metabolomics methods based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS were utilized to analyse the differential components of ER before and after wine processing. Afterwards, the uterine smooth muscle cells were isolated from the uterine tissue of dysmenorrhea and normal mice. The isolated dysmenorrhea uterine smooth muscle cells were randomly divided into four groups: model group, 7-hydroxycoumarin group (1 mmol/L), chlorogenic acid (1 mmol/L), and limonin (50 μmol/L). The normal group consisted of the isolated normal mouse uterine smooth muscle cells, which were repeated 3 times in each group. The cell contraction and the expression of P2X3 and Ca²⁺ in vitro were determined using immunofluorescence staining and laser confocal; ELISA was used for detection of PGE2, ET-1, and NO content after 7-hydroxycoumarin, chlorogenic acid, and limonin administered for 24 h.

Results

The metabolomics results suggested that seven differential compounds were identified in the extracts of raw ER and PER, including chlorogenic acid, 7-hydroxycoumarin, hydroxy evodiamine, laudanosine, evollionines A, limonin, and 1-methyl-2-[(z)-4-nonenyl]-4 (1H)-quinolone. The in vitro results showed that 7-hydroxycoumarin, chlorogenic acid, and limonin were able to inhibit cell contraction and PGE2, ET-1, P2X3, and Ca²⁺ in dysmenorrhea mouse uterine smooth muscle cells and increase the content of NO.

Conclusion

Our finding suggested that the compounds of the PER were different from those of the raw ER, and 7-hydroxycoumarin, chlorogenic acid, and limonin could improve dysmenorrhea in mice whose uterine smooth muscle cell contraction was closed with endocrine factors and P2X3-Ca²⁺ pathway.

Integration of metabolomics and transcriptomics to reveal ferroptosis is involved in Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside tablet-induced testicular injury

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside tablet (TWP), a traditional Chinese medicine preparation, has multiple pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, immune-modulatory and anti-proliferative activities. However, the reproductive toxicity of TWP greatly limits its clinical application and the mechanism of TWP-induced reproductive toxicity is not fully understood yet.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study was designed to explore the mechanism of TWP-induced testis injury in male rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The mechanism underlying TWP-induced rat testicular injury was firstly investigated by integration of metabolomics and transcriptomics. Meanwhile, histopathological analysis, Western blot and RT-qPCR were performed to confirm the damaging effects and mechanisms of TWP on rat testis.

RESULTS

Histopathological analysis revealed that TWP had significant testicular damage, which severely reduced the testis's tubular diameter and epithelium height. Further, TWP caused the protein level of ZO-1, CLDN11, PLZF, and OCT4 significantly downregulate, suggesting the blood-testis barrier function and spermatogenesis were damaged. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 4952 upregulated and 2626 downregulated, were found in TWP-exposed testis compared to the normal group. Moreover, 77 changed metabolites were identified from testis samples. With integrated analysis of DEGs and changed metabolites, we found that glutathione metabolism and ferroptosis played an essential role in testicular injury. Additionally, the levels of ferroptosis-related protein GPX4, SLC7A11, and NRF2 were significantly downregulated, and the protein level of 4-HNE, a leading product of lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress, was upregulated. The changes in ferroptosis-related genes indicated that TWP might promote ferroptosis in rat testis.

CONCLUSION

These results suggested that ferroptosis was involved in the testicular damage caused by TWP, which might provide a new strategy to alleviate TWP- induced testicular injury.

A landscape of Long non-coding RNAs reveals the leading transcriptome alterations in murine aorta during aging

Considerable studies have given convincing evidence of a forefront position for vascular aging in preventing cardiovascular disease. Various functions of Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are becoming increasingly distinct in aging-related diseases. This study aims at a better insight into the expression profile and mechanisms of lncRNAs in vascular senescence. High-throughput sequencing was used to detect the differential expression (DE) of lncRNAs and mRNAs in the aorta of 96 W and 8 W-old mice, while 1423 lncRNAs and 80 mRNAs were differentially expressed. By performing GO and KEGG enrichment analysis, we found that DE lncRNAs were mainly involved in purine metabolism and cGMP-PKG signaling pathways. In addition, a co-expression functional network of DE lncRNAs and DE mRNAs was constructed, and ENSMUST00000218874 could interact with 41 DE mRNAs, suggesting that it may play an essential role in vascular senescence. This study reveals DE lncRNAs in naturally aging vascular, which may provide new ideas and targets for aging-related cardiovascular diseases.

The mechanism of ginger and its processed products in the treatment of estradiol valerate coupled with oxytocin-induced dysmenorrhea in mice via regulating the TRP ion channel-mediated ERK1/2/NF-κB signaling pathway

Ginger (Rhizoma zingiberis, RZ) has been used as a food, spice, supplement, flavoring agent, and as an edible herbal medicine. It is characterized by its pungency and aroma, and is rich in nutrients with remarkable pharmacological effects. It is used in traditional medicine clinics to treat diseases and symptoms, such as colds, headache, and primary dysmenorrhea (PD). In China, a variety of processed products of RZ are used as herbal medicines, such as baked ginger (BG) or ginger charcoal (GC) to treat different diseases and symptoms. However, the molecular mechanism of the therapeutic effect of RZ and its processed products (RZPPs, including BG or GC) against PD has not been well characterized. Moreover, whether the transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels are involved in this process is not clear. In the present study, UHPLC-Q-TOF MS was adopted to analyse the differential quality markers (DQMs) between RZ and RZPPs. In addition, differential metabolomics (DMs) was acquired between RZ- and RZPPs-treated estradiol valerate coupled with an oxytocin-induced PD mouse uterus using untargeted metabolomics (UM). A correlation analysis between DQMs and DMs was also conducted. Benzenoids, lipids, and lipid-like molecules were the main DQMs between RZ and RZPPs. RZ and RZPPs were found to improve the pathological status of the uterus of a PD mouse, with significantly decreased serum levels of E2, PGF2α, TXB2 and remarkably increased levels of PROG and 6-keto-PGF1α. Moreover, RZ and RZPPs alleviated PD in mice via regulating the TRP ion channel-mediated ERK1/2/NF-κB signaling pathway. Our results indicate that the therapeutic effect of RZ and RZPPs against PD may be mediated by regulating the TRP ion channel-mediated ERK1/2/NF-κB signaling pathway, and provide a reference for the development of new dietary supplements or medicines.

Integration of metabolomics and transcriptomics to reveal anti-chronic myocardial ischemia mechanism of Gualou Xiebai decoction

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Gualou Xiebai decoction (GLXB), a well-known classic traditional Chinese medicine formula, is a recorded and proven therapy for the management of cardiac diseases. However, its pharmacological characteristics and mechanism of action are unclear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The effects of GLXB and its mechanism of action in an isoprenaline-induced rat model of chronic myocardial ischemia (CMI) were investigated by incorporating metabonomics and transcriptomics. Meanwhile, the echocardiographic evaluation, histopathological analysis, serum biochemistry assay, TUNEL assay and western blot analysis were detected to revealed the protective effects of GLXB on CMI.

RESULTS

The results of echocardiographic evaluation, histopathological analysis and serum biochemistry assay revealed that GLXB had a significantly cardioprotective performance by reversing echocardiographic abnormalities, restoring pathological disorders and converting the serum biochemistry perturbations. Further, the omics analysis indicated that many genes and metabolites were regulated after modeling and GLXB administration, and maintained the marked "high-low" or "low-high" trends. Meanwhile, the results from integrated bioinformatics analysis suggested that the interaction network mainly consisted of amino acid and organic acid metabolism. The results of TUNEL assay and western blot analysis complemented the findings of integrated analysis of metabolomics and transcriptomics.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggested that GLXB has a curative effect in isoproterenol-induced CMI in rats. Integrated analysis based on transcriptomics and metabolomics studies revealed that the mechanism of GLXB in alleviating CMI was principally by the regulation of energy homeostasis and apoptosis, which was through a multi-component and multi-target treatment modality.

Oral traditional Chinese patent medicines combined with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for primary dysmenorrhea: A protocol for Bayesian network meta-analysis and systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) was the most common gynecological disorder, with an increasingly high prevalence worldwide. PD often accompanied other dysmenorrhea-associated symptoms to trigger exacerbations, and even cause depression and anxiety for patients. As the effective first-line medication, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have become widespread across China and combined with oral traditional Chinese patent medicines (TCPMs) for PD in clinical practice. We hope to provide better efficacy and safety evidence about oral TCPMs combined with NSAIDs (oral TCPMs+NSAIDs) for patients with PD by this network meta-analysis.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will perform a Bayesian network meta-analysis of all oral TCPMs+NSAIDs for clinical diagnosis as PD. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, VIP information resource integration service platform databases, and clinical registers will be searched from the database inception to June 30, 2022 to find randomized controlled trials. Two reviewers will independently screen and check titles and abstracts and read the full text. Data extraction with the same criteria will be conducted by two researchers, including study characteristics, participant characteristics, interventions and comparators, and outcomes. We will perform the network meta-analysis by the Bayesian random method to analyze the direct and indirect comparisons. Meta-regression with multiple covariates will be conducted to find the potential heterogeneity. We will perform the sensitivity analysis to identify the potential effect on the robustness of our results. Evidence certainty of all interventions in outcomes will be identified and assessed by Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) assessment. Funnel plots with Egger test and Begg's test to detect the potential publication bias.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021265675.

Uncovering the effects and mechanism of Danggui Shaoyao San intervention on primary dysmenorrhea by serum metabolomics approach

Danggui Shaoyao San (DSS) is a well-known prescription for relieving primary dysmenorrhea (PD) of women in China. However, its pharmacological mechanism has not been thoroughly uncovered. Here, an integrative UPLC-Q-TOF-MS-based serum metabolomics approach coupled with multivariate data analysis has been proposed to investigate the effects and mechanism of DSS on estradiol benzoate and oxytocin-induced PD rats. 31 potential biomarkers of PD were screened and identified, mainly involving phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, primary bile acid biosynthesis, and the occurrence of PD could destroy biological homeostasis in vivo by monitoring these pathways. After DSS treatment, 18 identified different metabolites were restored to the nomal state in varying degrees and could be potential biomarkers contributing to the treatment of DSS. These findings implyed that DSS exhibited a therapeutic effect on PD rats through regulating multiple abnormal pathways. Of note, this study discovered some potential biomarkers related to PD for the first time, such as L-tyrosine, glycocholic acid, citric acid, palmitoylcarnitine, cholesterol. It preliminarily proved the pathophysiology of PD and action mechanisms of DSS on PD, and provided a novel insight into the effectiveness of DSS on PD.

The Establishment of a Mouse Model of Recurrent Primary Dysmenorrhea

Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most common reasons for gynecologic visits, but due to the lack of suitable animal models, the pathologic mechanisms and related drug development are limited. Herein, we establish a new mouse model which can mimic the periodic occurrence of primary dysmenorrhea to solve this problem. Non-pregnant female mice were pretreated with estradiol benzoate for 3 consecutive days. After that, mice were injected with oxytocin to simulate menstrual pain on the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th days (four estrus cycles). Assessment of the cumulative writhing score, uterine tissue morphology, and uterine artery blood flow and biochemical analysis were performed at each time point. Oxytocin injection induced an equally severe writhing reaction and increased PGF_2α accompanied with upregulated expression of COX-2 on the 4th and 8th days. In addition, decreased uterine artery blood flow but increased resistive index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were also observed. Furthermore, the metabolomics analysis results indicated that arachidonic acid metabolism; linoleic acid metabolism; glycerophospholipid metabolism; valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis; alpha-linolenic acid metabolism; and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids might play important roles in the recurrence of primary dysmenorrhea. This new mouse model is able to mimic the clinical characteristics of primary dysmenorrhea for up to two estrous cycles.

Ethnopharmacological Survey of Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacy Prescriptions for Dysmenorrhea

Chinese herbal medicines have long been used for the treatment of dysmenorrhea. The treatment experiences of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pharmacies passed down through generations have contributed to a wealth of prescriptions for dysmenorrhea that have achieved significant therapeutic effects in countless Taiwanese women. Therefore, surveying and analyzing these prescriptions may enable us to elucidate the core medication combinations used in TCM prescriptions for dysmenorrhea. In the present study, a field investigation was conducted on various TCM pharmacies in Taiwan. A total of 96 TCM pharmacies were sampled, and 99 prescriptions for dysmenorrhea containing 77 different medicinal materials were collected. Compositae (8%) was the most common botanical source of the medicinal materials, and the predominant TCM property and flavor of the materials were warm (45%) and sweet (73%), respectively. The blood-activating and stasis-dispelling effect (23%) and the qi-tonifying effect (23%) were the most prevalent traditional effects, and the modern pharmacological effects most commonly found in the materials were anti-inflammatory (73%), antitumor (59%), and analgesic (12%) effects. Network analysis of the 77 medicinal materials used in the prescriptions, which was performed using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Support System, yielded seven core medicinal materials and the corresponding network diagram. The seven core medicinal materials ranked in order of relative frequency of citation (RFC) were Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Dang Gui), Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort (Chuan Qiong), Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch (Di Huang), Paeonia lactiflora Pall (Bai Shao), Hedysarum polybotrys Hand.-Mazz (Hong Qi), Lycium chinense Mill (Gou Qi Zi), and Cinnamomum cassia (L.). J. Presl (Gui Zhi). A total of 58 combinations, each consisting of two to five of the seven medicinal materials and 107 association rules among the materials, were identified. This study provides a record of valuable knowledge on TCM pharmacy prescriptions for dysmenorrhea. The rich medicinal knowledge of TCM pharmacies in Taiwan is worthy of further exploration, and the results of this study can serve as a basis for future pharmacological research and the development of naturally derived medications for dysmenorrhea.