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Li H, Jiang X, Shen X, Sun Y, Jiang N, Zeng J, Lin J, Yue L, Lai J, Li Y, Wu A, Wang L, Qin D, Huang F, Mei Q, Yang J, Wu J. TMEA, a Polyphenol in Sanguisorba officinalis, Promotes Thrombocytopoiesis by Upregulating PI3K/Akt Signaling. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:708331. [PMID: 34485295 PMCID: PMC8416095 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.708331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Thrombocytopenia is closely linked with hemorrhagic diseases, for which induction of thrombopoiesis shows promise as an effective treatment. Polyphenols widely exist in plants and manifest antioxidation and antitumour activities. In this study, we investigated the thrombopoietic effect and mechanism of 3,3′,4′-trimethylellagic acid (TMEA, a polyphenol in Sanguisorba officinalis L.) using in silico prediction and experimental validation. A KEGG analysis indicated that PI3K/Akt signalling functioned as a crucial pathway. Furthermore, the virtual molecular docking results showed high-affinity binding (a docking score of 6.65) between TMEA and mTOR, suggesting that TMEA might target the mTOR protein to modulate signalling activity. After isolation of TMEA, in vitro and in vivo validation revealed that this compound could promote megakaryocyte differentiation/maturation and platelet formation. In addition, it enhanced the phosphorylation of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, and P70S6K and increased the expression of GATA-1 and NF-E2, which confirmed the mechanism prediction. In conclusion, our findings are the first to demonstrate that TMEA may provide a novel therapeutic strategy that relies on the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway to facilitate megakaryocyte differentiation and platelet production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Li
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Xueqin Jiang
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xin Shen
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Yueshan Sun
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,Medical Research Center, The Third People's Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, China
| | - Nan Jiang
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jing Zeng
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jing Lin
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Liang Yue
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jia Lai
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Yan Li
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Anguo Wu
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Medical Key Laboratory for Drug Discovery and Druggability Evaluation of Sichuan Province, Luzhou Key Laboratory of Activity Screening and Druggability Evaluation for Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Long Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Medical Key Laboratory for Drug Discovery and Druggability Evaluation of Sichuan Province, Luzhou Key Laboratory of Activity Screening and Druggability Evaluation for Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Dalian Qin
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Medical Key Laboratory for Drug Discovery and Druggability Evaluation of Sichuan Province, Luzhou Key Laboratory of Activity Screening and Druggability Evaluation for Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Feihong Huang
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Qibing Mei
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Medical Key Laboratory for Drug Discovery and Druggability Evaluation of Sichuan Province, Luzhou Key Laboratory of Activity Screening and Druggability Evaluation for Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Jing Yang
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jianming Wu
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Medical Key Laboratory for Drug Discovery and Druggability Evaluation of Sichuan Province, Luzhou Key Laboratory of Activity Screening and Druggability Evaluation for Chinese Materia Medica, Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
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Schisandrol A Attenuates Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Myocardial Apoptosis through Upregulation of 14-3-3 θ. OXIDATIVE MEDICINE AND CELLULAR LONGEVITY 2021; 2021:5541753. [PMID: 34257806 PMCID: PMC8257380 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5541753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Schisandrol A (SA), one of the most abundant bioactive lignans extracted from the Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., has multiple pharmacological properties. However, the underlying mechanisms of SA in protection against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury remain obscure. The present experiment was performed to explore the cardioprotective effects of SA in MI/R injury and hypoxia/reoxygenation- (H/R-) induced cardiomyocyte injury and clarify the potential underlying mechanisms. SA treatment significantly improved MI/R injury as reflected by reduced myocardium infarct size, attenuated histological features, and ameliorated biochemical indicators. In the meantime, SA could profoundly ameliorate oxidative stress damage as evidenced by the higher glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) as well as lower malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Additionally, SA alleviated myocardial apoptosis as evidenced by a striking reduction of cleaved caspase-3 expression and increase of Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Further experiments demonstrated that SA had certain binding capability to the key functional protein 14-3-3θ. Mechanistically, SA prevented myocardial apoptosis through upregulating 14-3-3θ expression. Interestingly, siRNA against 14-3-3θ could promote apoptosis of cardiomyocytes, and H/R injury after knockdown of 14-3-3θ could further aggravate apoptosis, while overexpression of 14-3-3θ could significantly reduce apoptosis induced by H/R injury. Further, 14-3-3θ siRNA markedly weakened the antiapoptotic role of SA. Our results demonstrated that SA could exert apparent cardioprotection against MI/R injury and H/R injury, and potential mechanisms might be associated with inhibition of cardiomyocyte apoptosis at least partially through upregulation of 14-3-3θ.
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Chen J, Li LF, Hu XR, Wei F, Ma S. Network Pharmacology-Based Strategy for Elucidating the Molecular Basis Forthe Pharmacologic Effects of Licorice ( Glycyrrhiza spp.). Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:590477. [PMID: 33995004 PMCID: PMC8114075 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.590477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Licorice (Glycyrrhiza spp.) is used widely in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) due to its numerous pharmacologic effects. However, the mechanisms of action of the chemical constituents of licorice and their structure–function relationships are not fully understood. To address these points, we analyzed the chemical compounds in licorice listed in the TCM Systems Pharmacology database and TCM Integrated database. Target proteins of the compounds were predicted using Integrative Pharmacology-based Research Platform of TCM v2.0. Information on the pharmacologic effects of licorice was obtained from the 2020 Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and disease-related genes that have been linked to these effects were identified from the Encyclopedia of TCM database. Pathway analyses using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database were carried out for target proteins, and pharmacologic networks were constructed based on drug target–disease-related gene and protein–protein interactions. A total of 451 compounds were analyzed, of which 211 were from the medicinal parts of the licorice plant. The 241 putative targets of 106 bioactive compounds in licorice comprised 52 flavonoids, 47 triterpenoids, and seven coumarins. Four distinct pharmacologic effects of licorice were defined: 61 major hubs were the putative targets of 23 compounds in heat-clearing and detoxifying effects; 68 were targets of six compounds in spleen-invigorating and qi-replenishing effects; 28 were targets of six compounds in phlegm-expulsion and cough-suppressant effects; 25 compounds were targets of six compounds in spasm-relieving and analgesic effects. The major bioactive compounds of licorice were identified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight–tandem mass spectrometry. The anti-inflammatory properties of liquiritin apioside, liquiritigenin, glycyrrhizic acid and isoliquiritin apioside were demonstrated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot analysis. Liquiritin apioside, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritin, isoliquiritin apioside, kaempferol, and kumatakenin were the main active flavonoids, and 18α- and 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid were the main active triterpenoids of licorice. The former were associated with heat-clearing and detoxifying effects, whereas the latter were implicated in the other three pharmacologic effects. Thus, the compounds in licorice have distinct pharmacologic effects according to their chemical structure. These results provide a reference for investigating the potential of licorice in treatment of various diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Chen
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.,Institute for Control of Chinese Traditional Medicine and Ethnic Medicine (ICCTMEM), National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC), Beijing, China
| | - Lin-Fu Li
- College of Pharmacy, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Ru Hu
- Institute for Control of Chinese Traditional Medicine and Ethnic Medicine (ICCTMEM), National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC), Beijing, China
| | - Feng Wei
- Institute for Control of Chinese Traditional Medicine and Ethnic Medicine (ICCTMEM), National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC), Beijing, China
| | - Shuangcheng Ma
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.,Institute for Control of Chinese Traditional Medicine and Ethnic Medicine (ICCTMEM), National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC), Beijing, China
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Wang KX, Gao Y, Gong WX, Ye XF, Fan LY, Wang C, Gao XF, Gao L, Du GH, Qin XM, Lu AP, Guan DG. A Novel Strategy for Decoding and Validating the Combination Principles of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction From Multi-Scale Perspective. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:567088. [PMID: 33424585 PMCID: PMC7789881 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.567088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulas treat complex diseases through combined botanical drugs which follow specific compatibility rules to reduce toxicity and increase efficiency. "Jun, Chen, Zuo and Shi" is one of most used compatibility rules in the combination of botanical drugs. However, due to the deficiency of traditional research methods, the quantified theoretical basis of herbal compatibility including principles of "Jun, Chen, Zuo and Shi" are still unclear. Network pharmacology is a new strategy based on system biology and multi-disciplines, which can systematically and comprehensively observe the intervention of drugs on disease networks, and is especially suitable for the research of TCM in the treatment of complex diseases. In this study, we systematically decoded the "Jun, Chen, Zuo and Shi" rules of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction (HJD) in the treatment of diseases for the first time. This interpretation method considered three levels of data. The data in the first level mainly depicts the characteristics of each component in single botanical drug of HJD, include the physical and chemical properties of component, ADME properties and functional enrichment analysis of component targets. The second level data is the characterization of component-target-protein (C-T-P) network in the whole protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, mainly include the characterization of degree and key communities in C-T-P network. The third level data is the characterization of intervention propagation properties of HJD in the treatment of different complex diseases, mainly include target coverage of pathogenic genes and propagation coefficient of intervention effect between target proteins and pathogenic genes. Finally, our method was validated by metabolic data, which could be used to detect the components absorbed into blood. This research shows the scientific basis of "Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi" from a multi-dimensional perspective, and provides a good methodological reference for the subsequent interpretation of key components and speculation mechanism of the formula.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke-Xin Wang
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.,Institute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yao Gao
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.,Institute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Wen-Xia Gong
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Xiao-Feng Ye
- Institute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Liu-Yi Fan
- Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chun Wang
- Institute of Basic Theory for Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xue-Fei Gao
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Li Gao
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Guan-Hua Du
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.,Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xue-Mei Qin
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Ai-Ping Lu
- Institute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Dao-Gang Guan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Biochip Technology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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Wang KX, Gao Y, Lu C, Li Y, Zhou BY, Qin XM, Du GH, Gao L, Guan DG, Lu AP. Uncovering the Complexity Mechanism of Different Formulas Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Based on a Novel Network Pharmacology Model. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:1035. [PMID: 32754034 PMCID: PMC7365894 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.01035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with the characteristics of “multi-component-multi-target-multi-pathway” has obvious advantages in the prevention and treatment of complex diseases, especially in the aspects of “treating the same disease with different treatments”. However, there are still some problems such as unclear substance basis and molecular mechanism of the effectiveness of formula. Network pharmacology is a new strategy based on system biology and poly-pharmacology, which could observe the intervention of drugs on disease networks at systematical and comprehensive level, and especially suitable for study of complex TCM systems. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease, causing articular and extra articular dysfunctions among patients, it could lead to irreversible joint damage or disability if left untreated. TCM formulas, Danggui-Sini-decoction (DSD), Guizhi-Fuzi-decoction (GFD), and Huangqi-Guizhi-Wuwu-Decoction (HGWD), et al., have been found successful in controlling RA in clinical applications. Here, a network pharmacology-based approach was established. With this model, key gene network motif with significant (KNMS) of three formulas were predicted, and the molecular mechanism of different formula in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was inferred based on these KNMSs. The results show that the KNMSs predicted by the model kept a high consistency with the corresponding C-T network in coverage of RA pathogenic genes, coverage of functional pathways and cumulative contribution of key nodes, which confirmed the reliability and accuracy of our proposed KNMS prediction strategy. All validated KNMSs of each RA therapy-related formula were employed to decode the mechanisms of different formulas treat the same disease. Finally, the key components in KNMSs of each formula were evaluated by in vitro experiments. Our proposed KNMS prediction and validation strategy provides methodological reference for interpreting the optimization of core components group and inference of molecular mechanism of formula in the treatment of complex diseases in TCM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke-Xin Wang
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.,Institute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Yao Gao
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.,Institute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Cheng Lu
- Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yao Li
- Institute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Bo-Ya Zhou
- Department of Ultrasound, Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xue-Mei Qin
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Guan-Hua Du
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.,Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Li Gao
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Dao-Gang Guan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Single Cell Technology and Application, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ai-Ping Lu
- Institute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Hong M, Zhang Y, Li S, Tan HY, Wang N, Mu S, Hao X, Feng Y. A Network Pharmacology-Based Study on the Hepatoprotective Effect of Fructus Schisandrae. Molecules 2017; 22:E1617. [PMID: 28956809 PMCID: PMC6151775 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22101617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 09/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Fructus schisandrae (Wuweizi in Chinese), a common traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has been used for centuries to treat chronic liver disease. The therapeutic efficacy of Wuweizi has also been validated in clinical practice. In this study, molecular docking and network analysis were carried out to explore the hepatoprotective mechanism of Wuweizi as an effective therapeutic approach to treat liver disease. Multiple active compounds of Wuweizi were docked with 44 protein targets related with viral hepatitis, fatty liver, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. A compound-target network was constructed through network pharmacology analysis, predicting the relationships of active ingredients to the targets. Our results demonstrated that schisantherin, schisandrin B, schisandrol B, kadsurin, Wuweizisu C, Gomisin A, Gomisin G, and angeloylgomisin may target with 21 intracellular proteins associated with liver diseases, especially with fatty liver disease. The CYP2E1, PPARα, and AMPK genes and their related pathway may play a pivotal role in the hepatoprotective effects of Wuweizi. The network pharmacology strategy used provides a forceful tool for searching the action mechanism of traditional herbal medicines and novel bioactive ingredients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Hong
- School of Chinese Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 10 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
- Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 12 Jichang Road, Guangzhou 510405, China.
| | - Yongsheng Zhang
- School of Chinese Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 10 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
- Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou 310053, China.
| | - Sha Li
- School of Chinese Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 10 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Hor Yue Tan
- School of Chinese Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 10 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Ning Wang
- School of Chinese Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 10 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Shuzhen Mu
- The Key Laboratory of Chemistry for Natural Products of Guizhou Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 55500, China.
| | - Xiaojiang Hao
- The Key Laboratory of Chemistry for Natural Products of Guizhou Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 55500, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
| | - Yibin Feng
- School of Chinese Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 10 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
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A Network-Based Pharmacology Study of the Herb-Induced Liver Injury Potential of Traditional Hepatoprotective Chinese Herbal Medicines. Molecules 2017; 22:molecules22040632. [PMID: 28420096 PMCID: PMC6154655 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22040632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Revised: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Herbal medicines are widely used for treating liver diseases and generally regarded as safe due to their extensive use in Traditional Chinese Medicine practice for thousands of years. However, in recent years, there have been increased concerns regarding the long-term risk of Herb-Induced Liver Injury (HILI) in patients with liver dysfunction. Herein, two representative Chinese herbal medicines: one—Xiao-Chai-Hu-Tang (XCHT)—a composite formula, and the other—Radix Polygoni Multiflori (Heshouwu)—a single herb, were analyzed by network pharmacology study. Based on the network pharmacology framework, we exploited the potential HILI effects of XCHT and Heshouwu by predicting the molecular mechanisms of HILI and identified the potential hepatotoxic ingredients in XCHT and Heshouwu. According to our network results, kaempferol and thymol in XCHT and rhein in Heshouwu exhibit the largest number of liver injury target connections, whereby CASP3, PPARG and MCL1 may be potential liver injury targets for these herbal medicines. This network pharmacology assay might serve as a useful tool to explore the underlying molecular mechanism of HILI. Based on the theoretical predictions, further experimental verification should be performed to validate the accuracy of the predicted interactions between herbal ingredients and protein targets in the future.
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Li F, Lv YN, Tan YS, Shen K, Zhai KF, Chen HL, Kou JP, Yu BY. An integrated pathway interaction network for the combination of four effective compounds from ShengMai preparations in the treatment of cardio-cerebral ischemic diseases. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2015; 36:1337-48. [PMID: 26456587 DOI: 10.1038/aps.2015.70] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2015] [Accepted: 07/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM SMXZF (a combination of ginsenoside Rb1, ginsenoside Rg1, schizandrin and DT-13) derived from Chinese traditional medicine formula ShengMai preparations) is capable of alleviating cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice. In this study we used network pharmacology approach to explore the mechanisms of SMXZF in the treatment of cardio-cerebral ischemic diseases. METHODS Based upon the chemical predictors, such as chemical structure, pharmacological information and systems biology functional data analysis, a target-pathway interaction network was constructed to identify potential pathways and targets of SMXZF in the treatment of cardio-cerebral ischemia. Furthermore, the most related pathways were verified in TNF-α-treated human vascular endothelial EA.hy926 cells and H2O2-treated rat PC12 cells. RESULTS Three signaling pathways including the NF-κB pathway, oxidative stress pathway and cytokine network pathway were demonstrated to be the main signaling pathways. The results from the gene ontology analysis were in accordance with these signaling pathways. The target proteins were found to be associated with other diseases such as vision, renal and metabolic diseases, although they exerted therapeutic actions on cardio-cerebral ischemic diseases. Furthermore, SMXZF not only dose-dependently inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB, p50, p65 and IKKα/β in TNF-α-treated EA.hy926 cells, but also regulated the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway in H2O2-treated PC12 cells. CONCLUSION NF-κB signaling pathway, oxidative stress pathway and cytokine network pathway are mainly responsible for the therapeutic actions of SMXZF against cardio-cerebral ischemic diseases.
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