UPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS-based metabolomics survey on the toxicity of triptolide and detoxication of licorice

Comprehensive analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics to understand triptolide-induced liver injury in mice

Triptolide, a major active component of Triptergium wilfordii Hook. f, is used in the treatment of autoimmune disease. However, triptolide is associated with severe adverse reactions, especially hepatotoxicity, which limits its clinical application. To examine the underlying mechanism of triptolide-induced liver injury, a combination of dose- and time-dependent toxic effects, RNA-seq and metabolomics were employed. Triptolide-induced toxicity occurred in a dose- and time-dependent manners and was characterized by apoptosis and not necroptosis. Transcriptomics profiles of the dose-dependent response to triptolide suggested that PI3K/AKT, MAPK, TNFα and p53 signaling pathways were the vital steps in triptolide-induced hepatocyte apoptosis. Metabolomics further revealed that glycerophospholipid, fatty acid, leukotriene, purine and pyrimidine metabolism were the major metabolic alterations after triptolide exposure. Finally, acylcarnitines were identified as potential biomarkers for the early detection of triptolide-induced liver injury.

Study on the mechanism of cantharidin-induced hepatotoxicity in rat using serum and liver metabolomics combined with conventional pathology methods

Cantharidin (CTD), a compound secreted from Mylabris species, exhibits strong antitumor properties; however, hepatotoxicity restricts its clinical application. The mechanism by which CTD induces toxicity remains unclear. In the present study, the hepatotoxicity of CTD in the rat was investigated using a metabolomic approach combined with conventional pathology methods. A total of 30 rats were intragastrically treated with two doses of CTD (0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg) for 15 days to evaluate hepatotoxicity. Serum and liver samples were collected for biochemical dynamics analyses, histopathological examination and metabolomic analysis. It was found that liver index and serum biochemical indices were significantly increased. Furthermore, the pathology results showed that hepatocytes and subcellular organelles were damaged. Metabolomics analysis found 4 biomarkers in serum and 15 in the liver that were associated with CTD-induced hepatotoxicity. In addition, these were responsible for CTD hepatotoxicity by glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, and steroid hormone biosynthesis. In conclusion, conventional pathology and metabolomics for exploring hepatotoxicity can provide useful information about the safety and potential risks of CTD.

Inhibitory Effect of Methotrexate on Rheumatoid Arthritis Inflammation and Comprehensive Metabolomics Analysis Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS)

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease. The inflammation in joint tissue and system endanger the human health seriously. Methotrexate have exhibited a satisfactory therapeutic effect in clinical practice. The aim of this research was to establish the pharmacological mechanism of methotrexate on RA therapy. Collagen induced arthritic rats were used to identify how methotrexate alleviates inflammation in vivo. Lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory proliferation in macrophages was also be detected in vitro. The activation level of Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and Nucleotide binding domain and leucine-rich repeat pyrin 3 domain (NLRP3)/Caspase-1 and related cytokines were examined by real-time PCR and western blotting or quantified with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Comprehensive metabolomics analysis was performed to identify the alteration of metabolites. Results showed that treating with methotrexate could alleviate the inflammatory condition, downregulate the activation of NF-κB and NLRP3/Caspase-1 inflammatory pathways and reduce the level of related cytokines. Docking interaction between methotrexate and caspase-1 was visualized as six H-bonds indicating a potential inhibitory effect. Metabolomics analysis reported three perturbed metabolic inflammation related pathways including arachidonic acid, linoleic acid and sphingolipid metabolism. These findings indicated that methotrexate could inhibit the onset of inflammation in joint tissue by suppressing the activation of NF-κB and NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathways and regulating the inflammation related metabolic networks.

Metabolic alterations in triptolide-induced acute hepatotoxicity

Triptolide, a major active constitute of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F, is prescribed for the treatment of autoimmune diseases in China. One of its most severe adverse effects observed in the clinical use is hepatotoxicity, but the mechanism is still unknown. Therefore, the present study applied an LC/MS-based metabolomic analysis to characterize the metabolomic changes in serum and liver induced by triptolide in mice. Mice were administered triptolide by gavage to establish the acute liver injury model, and serum biochemical and liver histological analyses were applied to assess the degree of toxicity. Multivariate data analyses were performed to investigate the metabolic alterations. Potential metabolites were identified using variable importance in the projection values and Student's t-test. A total of 30 metabolites were observed that were significantly changed by triptolide treatment and the abundance of 29 metabolites was correlated with the severity of toxicity. Pathway analysis indicated that the mechanism of triptolide-induced hepatotoxicity was related to alterations in multiple metabolic pathways, including glutathione metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, purine metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, pyrimidine metabolism and amino acid metabolism. The current study provides new mechanistic insights into the metabolic alterations that lead to triptolide-induced hepatotoxicity.

The Application of Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with a LTQ-Orbitrap Mass Technique to Reveal the Dynamic Accumulation of Secondary Metabolites in Licorice under ABA Stress

The traditional medicine licorice is the most widely consumed herbal product in the world. Although much research work on studying the changes in the active compounds of licorice has been reported, there are still many areas, such as the dynamic accumulation of secondary metabolites in licorice, that need to be further studied. In this study, the secondary metabolites from licorice under two different methods of stress were investigated by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid linear ion trap-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS). A complex continuous coordination of flavonoids and triterpenoids in a network was modulated by different methods of stress during growth. The results showed that a total of 51 secondary metabolites were identified in licorice under ABA stress. The partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) revealed the distinction of obvious compounds among stress-specific districts relative to ABA stress. The targeted results showed that there were significant differences in the accumulation patterns of the deeply targeted 41 flavonoids and 10 triterpenoids compounds by PCA and PLS-DA analyses. To survey the effects of flavonoid and triterpenoid metabolism under ABA stress, we inspected the stress-specific metabolic changes. Our study testified that the majority of flavonoids and triterpenoids were elevated in licorice under ABA stress, while the signature metabolite affecting the dynamic accumulation of secondary metabolites was detected. Taken together, our results suggest that ABA-specific metabolite profiling dynamically changed in terms of the biosynthesis of flavonoids and triterpenoids, which may offer new trains of thought on the regular pattern of dynamic accumulation of secondary metabolites in licorice at the metabolite level. Our results also provide a reference for clinical applications and directional planting and licorice breeding.