Anti-anaphylactic potential of benzoylpaeoniflorin through inhibiting HDC and MAPKs from Paeonia lactiflora

Pharmacological Components and Mechanism Research on the Treatment of Myelosuppression after Chemotherapy with Danggui Jixueteng Decoction Based on Spectrum-Effect Relationships and Transcriptome Sequencing

Danggui Jixueteng decoction (DJD) has been used to treat anemia for many years and has been shown to be effective. However, the mechanism of action and effective components are yet unknown. We want to search for pharmacodynamic components in DJD with therapeutic effects on myelosuppression after chemotherapy (MAC), utilizing a spectrum-effect connection study based on gray relational analysis and partial least-squares regression analysis. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to investigate the mechanism by which DJD treats MAC. In this study, fingerprints of different batches of DJD (S1-S10) were established by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS), after which the resulting shared peaks were screened and identified. A total of 21 common peaks were screened through the fingerprints of different batches of DJD, and the similarity of each profile was greater than 0.92. The 21 shared peaks were identified by comparison with the standard sample and searching on a MassLynx 4.1 workstation. The rat model of MAC was established by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide, and DJD treatment was carried out in parallel with the establishment of the model. White blood cell count, red blood cell count, platelet count, interleukin-3, hemoglobin concentration, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and nucleated cell count were used as efficacy indicators. Pharmacodynamic results indicated that DJD could effectively improve the pharmacodynamic indices of MAC rats. The results of gray relational analysis demonstrated eight peaks with high correlation with efficacy, which were 2, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, 18, and 21, and the partial least-squares regression analysis showed four peaks with variable importance in projection values greater than 1, which were 10, 12, 13, and 19. RNA-Seq was used to identify DEGs in rat bone marrow cells, Gene Ontology functional enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses of DEGs were performed. The genes related to the effects of DJD on MAC were mainly involved in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/serine-threonine kinase (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway, the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway, actin cytoskeleton regulation, focal adhesion, and Rap1 signaling pathways. The results of the RNA-Seq study were confirmed by a qPCR experiment. The effective compounds of DJD against MAC include albiflorin, paeoniflorin, gallopaeoniflorin, salvianolic acid H/I, albiflorin R1, salvianolic acid B, salvianolic acid E, benzoylpaeoniflorin, and C12H18N5O4. The mechanism by which DJD prevents and treats MAC might involve the control of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.

Selective Inhibition of Organic Cation Transporter 1 by Benzoylpaeoniflorin Attenuates Hepatic Lipid Accumulation through AMPK Activation

Organic cation transporter 1 (OCT1) is a liver-specific transporter and plays an essential role in drug disposition and hepatic lipid metabolism. Therefore, inhibition of OCT1 may not only lead to drug-drug interactions but also represent a potential therapy for fatty liver diseases. In this study, we systematically investigated the inhibitory effect of 200 natural products on OCT1-mediated uptake of 4,4-dimethylaminostyryl-N-methylpyridinium (ASP+) and identified 10 potent OCT1 inhibitors. The selectivity of these inhibitors over OCT2 was evaluated using both in vitro uptake assays and in silico molecular docking analyses. Importantly, benzoylpaeoniflorin was identified as the most potent OCT1 inhibitor with the highest selectivity over OCT2. Additionally, benzoylpaeoniflorin prevented lipid accumulation in hepatocytes, with concomitant activation of AMPK and down-regulation of lipogenic genes, such as acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and fatty acid synthase (FASN). To conclude, our findings are of significant value in understanding OCT1-based natural product-drug interactions and provide a natural source of OCT1 inhibitors which may hold promise for treating fatty liver diseases.

Benzoylpaeoniflorin Activates Anti-Inflammatory Mechanisms to Mitigate Sepsis in Cell-Culture and Mouse Sepsis Models

Xuebijing injection (XBJI) (comprising of five herbs) is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine for sepsis treatment. However, the bioactive components of XBJI and the mechanisms responsible for its sepsis-mitigating action have not been experimentally determined. One of the main bioactive compounds in XBJI—benzoylpaeoniflorin (BPF)—inhibits the expressions of key mediators of inflammation such as nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), and COX-2. However, its effects on sepsis have not been determined yet. Therefore, here, we investigated the immunomodulatory effect of BPF on severely inflamed endothelial cells, THP-1 macrophages, peritoneal macrophages, and mice. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and THP-1-macrophages were activated using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) after pretreatment with BPF. Subsequently, changes in the expression profiles of pro-inflammatory molecules including inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6 were determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Western blot analysis. Furthermore, we monitored the phosphorylation of NF-kB and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) to determine their activation levels. Using the LPS-induced mouse model of sepsis, we studied the effects of BPF on inflammatory cytokine production, pulmonary histopathology, and survival rates. Finally, we evaluated whether BPF protects against cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis, as it closely mimics human sepsis. BPF pretreatment inhibited LPS-induced increase in mRNA and protein levels of iNOS, TNF-α, and IL-6 in HUVECs and THP-1-macrophages. It also suppressed LPS-mediated phosphorylation of p65, p38, JNK, and ERK. Mice with LPS-induced-sepsis who were treated with BPF had lower serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, CXCL1, and CXCL2 than the control mice treated with BPF. Histopathology revealed that BPF treatment alleviated LPS-induced lung damage. In addition, in mice given a lethal dose of LPS, BPF treatment showed a dose-dependent improvement in survival rates. BPF treatment dose-dependently inhibited the LPS-induced IL-6, TNF-α, and CXCL1 production in peritoneal macrophages. BPF treatment also dose-dependently improved the survival rates in mice with CLP-induced sepsis. These results show that BPF alleviates LPS-stimulated septic conditions and protects mice from CLP-induced sepsis. Our research marks BPF as a potential drug in the treatment of sepsis and various inflammatory diseases.

Metabolism of Paeoniae Radix Rubra and its 14 constituents in mice

Objective: Paeoniae Radix Rubra (PRR) is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine with the effects of clearing away heat, cooling the blood, and relieving blood stasis. To 1) elucidate the metabolites and metabolic pathways of PRR and its 14 main constituents in mice and 2) reveal the possible origins of the known effective forms of PRR and their isomers, the metabolism of PRR in mice was systematically studied for the first time.

Methods: PRR and its 14 constituents were administered to mice by gavage once a day for seven consecutive days, respectively. All urine and feces were collected during the 7 days of dosing, and blood was collected at 1 h after the last dose. Metabolites were detected and identified using high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector and combined with electrospray ionization ion trap time-of-flight multistage mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-IT-TOF-MSⁿ).

Results: In total, 23, 16, 24, 17, 18, 30, 27, 17, 22, 17, 33, 3, 8, 24, and 31 metabolites of paeoniflorin, albiflorin, oxypaeoniflorin, benzoylpaeoniflorin, hydroxybenzoylpaeoniflorin, benzoyloxypaeoniflorin, galloylpaeoniflorin, lactiflorin, epicatechin gallate, catechin gallate, catechin, ellagic acid, 3,3′-di-O-methylellagic acid, methylgallate, and PRR were respectively identified in mice; after eliminating identical metabolites, a total of 195 metabolites remained, including 8, 11, 25, 17, 18, 30, 27, 17, 21, 17, 1, 2, 8, 20, and 20 newly identified metabolites, respectively. The metabolic reactions of PRR and its 14 main constituents in mice were primarily methylation, hydrogenation, hydrolysis, hydroxylation, glucuronidation, and sulfation.

Conclusion: We elucidated the metabolites and metabolic pathways of PRR and its 14 constituents (e.g., paeoniflorin, catechin, ellagic acid, and gallic acid) in mice and revealed the possible origins of the 10 known effective forms of PRR and their isomers. The findings are of great significance to studying the mechanism of action and quality control of PRR.