Fufang Shenhua tablet inhibits renal fibrosis by inhibiting PI3K/AKT

Integrated serum pharmacochemistry, network pharmacology, and pharmacokinetics to clarify the effective components and pharmacological mechanisms of the proprietary Chinese medicine Jinkui Shenqi Pill in treating kidney yang deficiency syndrome

The proprietary Chinese medicine Jinkui Shenqi Pill (PCM-JKSQP) is a classic compound used for the effective clinical treatment of kidney yang deficiency syndrome (KYDS), a metabolic disease accompanied by kidney injury. However, its active ingredients and therapeutic mechanisms are not clear. This study employed serum pharmacochemistry, network pharmacology, and pharmacokinetics (PK) to identify the bioactive components of PCM-JKSQP and preliminarily clarify its mechanism in treating KYDS. One hundred and forty chemical components of PCM-JKSQP, 47 (20 parent compouds and 27 metabolites) of which were absorbed into the blood, were identified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS). The topological parameters of network pharmacology and high concentrations in blood found six parent components as PK markers (cinnamic acid, paeonol, loganin, morroniside, apigenin, and poricoic acid A). PK analysis further identified these six compounds as active ingredients. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and molecular docking simulation predicted and verified eight core targets (TP53, ESR1, CTNNB1, EP300, EGFR, AKT1, ERBB2, and TNF). Most were concentrated in the MAPK, HIF-1, and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways, indicating that these six active ingredients may mainly exert therapeutic effects through these three pathways via their core targets. The PK results also showed these six components were absorbed quickly, although cinnamic acid and paeonol were rapidly metabolized, with a short half-life and retention time. Loganin and morroniside did not have high peak concentrations, and apigenin and poricoic acid A had long retention times. This study provides a new overall perspective for exploring the bioactive components and mechanisms underlying the effects of PCM-JKSQP in treating KYDS.

Kokusaginine attenuates renal fibrosis by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Kokusaginine is an active ingredient alkaloid that has been isolated and extracted from Ruta graveolens L. Some researches have indicated that alkaloids possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Nevertheless, the potential nephroprotective effects of kokusaginine on renal fibrosis remain undetermined. This study was conducted to examine the protective effect of kokusaginine on renal fibrosis and to explore the underlying mechanisms using both in vivo and in vitro models. Renal fibrosis was induced in male C57BL/6 J mice by feeding with 0.2% adenine-containing food and UUO surgery. Kokusaginine was administered orally simultaneously after the establishment of renal fibrosis. Renal function was measured by serum levels of creatinine and urea nitrogen. Renal pathological changes were assessed by HE staining and Masson staining. Western blotting was employed to detect the expression levels of fibrosis-related proteins in mice and cells. Additionally, network pharmacology analysis and RNA-seq were utilized to predict the pathways through which kokusaginine could exert its anti-fibrotic effects. The treatment with kokusaginine enhanced renal function, alleviated renal histoarchitectural lesions, and mitigated renal fibrosis in the renal fibrosis models. The network pharmacology and RNA-seq enrichment analysis of the KEGG pathway demonstrated that kokusaginine could exert anti-renal fibrosis activity via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. And the results were verified in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. In conclusion, our data implied that kokusaginine inhibited the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway both in vitro and in vivo, and suppressed the formation of renal fibrosis. Thus, the kokusaginine-mediated PI3K/AKT signaling pathway may represent a novel approach for the treatment of renal fibrosis.

Novel applications of Yinhua Miyanling tablets in ulcerative colitis treatment based on metabolomics and network pharmacology

BACKGROUND

Yinhua Miyanling tablets (YMT), comprising 10 Chinese medicinal compounds, is a proprietary Chinese medicine used in the clinical treatment of urinary tract infections. Medicinal compounds, extracts, or certain monomeric components in YMT all show good effect on ulcerative colitis (UC). However, no evidence supporting YMT as a whole prescription for UC treatment is available.

PURPOSE

To evaluate the anti-UC activity of YMT and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. The objective of the study was to provide evidence for the add-on development of YMT to treat UC.

METHODS

First, YMT's protective effect on the intestinal barrier was evaluated using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced Caco-2 intestinal injury model. Second, the UC mouse model was established using dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to determine YMT's influence on symptoms, inflammatory factors, intestinal barrier, and histopathological changes in the colon. Third, an integrated method combining metabolomics and network pharmacology was employed to screen core targets and key metabolic pathways with crucial roles in YMT's therapeutic effect on UC. Molecular docking was employed to identify the key targets with high affinity. Finally, western blotting was performed to validate the mechanism of YMT action against UC.

RESULTS

YMT enhanced the transepithelial electrical resistance value and improved the expression of proteins of the tight junctions dose-dependently in LPS-induced Caco-2 cells. UC mice treated with YMT exhibited alleviated pathological lesions of the colon tissue in the in vivo pharmacodynamic experiments. The colonic lengths tended to be normal, and the levels of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6, and iNOS) along with those of the core enzymes (MPO, MDA, and SOD) improved. YMT effectively ameliorated DSS-induced colonic mucosal injury; pathological changes along with ultrastructure damage were significantly alleviated (evidenced by a relatively intact colon tissue, recovery of epithelial damage, repaired gland, reduced infiltration of inflammatory cells and epithelial cells arranged closely with dense microvilli). Seven key targets (IL-6, TNF-α, MPO, COX-2, HK2, TPH, and CYP1A2) and four key metabolic pathways (arachidonic acid metabolism, linoleate metabolism, glycolysis, and gluconeogenesis and tyrosine biosynthesis) were identified to play vital roles in the treatment on UC using YMT.

CONCLUSIONS

YMT exerts beneficial therapeutic effects on UC by regulating multiple endogenous metabolites, targets, and metabolic pathways, suggestive of its potential novel application in UC treatment.

β-elemene alleviates esophageal fibrosis after endoscopic submucosal dissection via the FAP-mediated PTEN-PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Esophageal stricture caused by fibrosis is a serious complication after esophageal Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Myofibroblasts play a crucial role in esophageal fibrosis, so inhibiting activated myofibroblasts is a promising approach for treating esophageal fibrosis. β-Elemene, a natural product with anti-tumor and anti-fibrotic properties, has not been thoroughly examined in esophageal fibrosis. Additionally, fibroblast activation protein (FAP) and PTEN-PI3K/AKT signaling pathway are both notably linked to fibrotic diseases. Therefore, we investigated the potential mechanisms of β-elemene in esophageal fibrosis by treating primary human esophageal granulation fibroblasts (PHEGFs) with gradient concentrations of β-elemene. Our findings demonstrated that β-elemene inhibited the activity of PHEGFs in a dose-dependent manner, accompanied by downregulation of FAP, p-PI3K, and p-AKT protein expression, along with upregulation of p-PTEN protein expression. In addition, we substantiated the potential correlation between FAP and the PTEN-PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by establishing models of FAP overexpression and silencing. These results provide a new perspective on the potential mechanism of β-elemene in relieving esophageal fibrosis and offer novel therapeutic strategies for managing post-esophageal ESD stricture in clinical practice.

Baicalin - 2- ethoxyethyl ester alleviates renal fibrosis by inhibiting PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway

With the increasing incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), the development of safe and effective anti-renal fibrosis drugs is particularly urgent. Recently, Baicalin has been considered to have a renal protective effect, but its bioavailability is too low. Therefore, we synthesized baicalin-2-ethoxyethyl ester (BAE) by esterification of baicalin. We hope that this experiment will demonstrate the anti-renal fibrosis effect of BAE and explain its molecular mechanism. In this study, the chronic kidney injury model of SD rats was established by 5/6 nephrectomy, and BAE was given for 28 days. The results showed that after BAE treatment, the serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels decreased significantly, and the pathological changes in kidneys were improved. In addition, RNA-seq analysis showed that the mechanism of BAE in relieving renal fibrosis was related to the ECM receptor, PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and inflammatory reaction. The western blotting analysis confirmed that BAE could inhibit the expression of α-SMA, TGF-β1, p-PI3K, p-AKT, p-IκBα, and NF-κB p65. We found that BAE can inhibit the inflammatory reaction and promote the degradation of the extracellular matrix by inhibiting the activation of the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway, thus alleviating the symptoms of renal fibrosis in 5/6Nx rats, which revealed BAE was a potential compound to relieve renal fibrosis effect.

Phosphorylated vimentin at Ser72 is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lupus nephritis

OBJECTIVES

To measure the expression of vimentin and its phosphorylated forms in lupus nephritis (LN) and explore their potential role in LN development.

METHODS

Lupus renal biopsies from LN patients and normal renal biopsies from kidney transplant donors were collected. The expression of vimentin and its phosphorylated forms (p-vimentin (Ser39, Ser56, Ser72, Ser83, and Tyr117)) were measured by Western blots and immunohistochemistry. To construct stable cell line that overexpress vimentin and its phosphorylated forms, an immortalized proximal tubule epithelial cell line (HK-2 cells) was utilized. The roles of vimentin and its phosphorylated forms on the migration of HK-2 cells were examined by transwell migration assay and wound healing analysis.

RESULTS

We first observed a significant upregulation of vimentin protein in TGFβ1-induced HK-2 cells. This finding was further confirmed in renal tissues obtained from LN patients and animal model. Interestingly, among the five phosphorylated forms of vimentin, only vimentin phosphorylated at Ser72 was upregulated in LN. Through the establishment of stable vimentin and its phosphorylated forms overexpression in HK-2 cells, we found that the overexpression of vimentin and its phosphorylated forms at Ser72 significantly enhances the cell migration.

CONCLUSIONS

Vimentin phosphorylated on Ser72 is important for renal epithelial cell migration, which would enhance the progression of vimentin-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition during LN development.

The therapeutic effect of Shenhua tablet against mesangial cell proliferation and renal inflammation in mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis

Shenhua tablet (SH), a formulation of traditional Chinese medicine, exerts renoprotective effect on chronic kidney diseases, and it has been found to restrain inflammation, but the mechanism is still unclear. Here, we explored the potential renoprotection of SH in mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN) rat model induced by anti-Thy1 antibody. Administration of SH reduced urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) and significantly attenuated mesangial cell proliferation and renal inflammation. Notably, SH protected rats against renal inflammation, which was associated with decreasing macrophage infiltration and promoting macrophage anti-inflammatory activity. Network analysis combined with arrays identified the Janus kinase signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway as the main pathways of SH could target inflammation. Furthermore, it was confirmed that mesangial cell proliferation, which response to inflammation, were alleviated by ASS1 expression enhanced after SH administration both in vivo and in vitro. Collectively, SH has the beneficial on relieving the progression of MsPGN to alleviate inflammation and mesangial proliferation by inhibiting STAT3 phosphorylation and maintains the expression level of ASS1, might be an effective strategy for treating MsPGN.