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Zeng X, Liu MH, Xiong Y, Zheng LX, Guo KE, Zhao HM, Yin YT, Liu DY, Zhou BG. Pien Tze Huang alleviates Concanavalin A-induced autoimmune hepatitis by regulating intestinal microbiota and memory regulatory T cells. World J Gastroenterol 2023; 29:5988-6016. [PMID: 38130997 PMCID: PMC10731150 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i45.5988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Traditional Chinese medicine has used the drug Pien Tze Huang (PTH), a classic prescription, to treat autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). However, the precise mode of action is still unknown. AIM To investigate the mechanism of PTH in an AIH mouse model by determining the changes in gut microbiota structure and memory regulatory T (mTreg) cells functional levels. METHODS Following induction of the AIH mouse model induced by Concanavalin A (Con A), prophylactic administration of PTH was given for 10 d. The levels of mTreg cells were measured by flow cytometry, and intestinal microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA analysis, while western blotting was used to identify activation of the toll-like receptor (TLR)2, TLR4/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and CXCL16/CXCR6 signaling pathways. RESULTS In the liver of mice with AIH, PTH relieved the pathological damage and reduced the numbers of T helper type 17 cells and interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-21 expression. Simultaneously, PTH stimulated the abundance of helpful bacteria, promoted activation of the TLR2 signal, which may enhance Treg/mTreg cells quantity to produce IL-10, and suppressed activation of the TLR4/NF-κB and CXCL16/CXCR6 signaling pathways. CONCLUSION PTH regulates intestinal microbiota balance and restores mTreg cells to alleviate experimental AIH, which is closely related to the TLR/CXCL16/CXCR6/NF-κB signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zeng
- Department of Postgraduate, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, Jiangxi Province, China
| | - Miao-Hua Liu
- Department of Postgraduate, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, Jiangxi Province, China
| | - Yi Xiong
- Department of Postgraduate, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, Jiangxi Province, China
| | - Lin-Xin Zheng
- Department of Postgraduate, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, Jiangxi Province, China
| | - Kai-En Guo
- Department of Postgraduate, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, Jiangxi Province, China
| | - Hai-Mei Zhao
- College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, Jiangxi Province, China
| | - Yu-Ting Yin
- College of Pharmacy, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, Jiangxi Province, China
| | - Duan-Yong Liu
- Formula-Pattern Research Center, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, Jiangxi Province, China
| | - Bu-Gao Zhou
- Office of Academic Research, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, Jiangxi Province, China
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Wang H, Chen F, Wang S, Li Y, Liu T, Li Y, Deng H, Dong J, Pang J, Song D, Zhang D, Yu J, Wang Y. Evaluation and mechanism study of Pien Tze Huang against EV-A71 infection. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1251731. [PMID: 37954857 PMCID: PMC10637388 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1251731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) caused by enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) infection, currently lacks specific preventive and therapeutic interventions. Here, we demonstrated that Pien Tze Huang (PZH) could dose-dependently inhibit EV-A71 replication at the cellular level, resulting in significant reductions in EV-A71 virus protein 1 (VP1) expression and viral yields in Vero and human rhabdomyosarcoma cells. More importantly, we confirmed that PZH could protect mice from EV-A71 infection for the first time, with Ribavirin serving as a positive control. PZH treatment reduced EV-A71 VP1 protein expression, viral yields in infected muscles, and improved muscle pathology. Additionally, we conducted a preliminary mechanism study using quantitative proteomics. The results suggested that the suppression of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and NF-κB signaling pathways may contribute to the anti-EV-A71 activity of PZH. These findings provide strong evidence supporting the potential therapeutic application of PZH for EV-A71 infection management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiqiang Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Fenbei Chen
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Shicong Wang
- Fujian Pien Tze Huang Enterprise Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine Research and Development, Zhangzhou, China
| | - Yuhuan Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Ting Liu
- Institute for Drug Control, National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
| | - Yinghong Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Hongbin Deng
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jingwen Dong
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Pang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Danqing Song
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Dousheng Zhang
- Institute for Drug Control, National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
| | - Juan Yu
- Fujian Pien Tze Huang Enterprise Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine Research and Development, Zhangzhou, China
| | - Yanxiang Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Antimicrobial Agents, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
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Li K, Zheng J, Liu H, Gao Q, Yang M, Tang J, Wang H, Li S, Sun Y, Chang X. Whole-transcriptome sequencing revealed differentially expressed mRNAs and non-coding RNAs played crucial roles in NiONPs-induced liver fibrosis. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2022; 248:114308. [PMID: 36410144 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.114308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs) induced liver fibrosis, while its mechanisms associated with transcriptome remained unclear. This study aimed to investigate the roles of differentially expressed (DE) messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in NiONPs-induced liver fibrosis, and further confirm whether JNK/c-Jun pathway enriched by the DE RNAs was involved in the regulation of the disease. A liver fibrosis rat model was established by intratracheal perfusion of NiONPs twice a week for 9 weeks. Whole-transcriptome sequencing was applied to obtain expression profiles of mRNAs, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs) in the model rat and control liver tissues. Comparing the RNA expression profiles of the model and control liver tissues, we identified 324 DE mRNAs, 129 DE lncRNAs, 24 DE miRNAs and 33 DE circRNAs, and the potential interactions among them were revealed by constructing two co-expression networks, including lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA and circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks. Using RT-qPCR, we verified the sequencing results of some RNAs in the networks and obtained similar expression profiles, indicating our sequencing results were reliable and referable. Through Gene Ontology (GO) annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, we predicted the biological functions and signaling pathways potentially related to NiONPs-induced liver fibrosis, such as "positive regulation of JNK cascade", "inflammatory response", "transcription factor binding", and MAPK, Wnt, PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. JNK/c-Jun pathway, a subclass of MAPK signal, was selected for further investigation because it was significantly enriched by fibrosis-related DE genes and activated in animal models. In vitro, we detected the cytotoxicity of NiONPs on LX-2 cells and treated the cells with 5 μg/ml NiONPs for 12 h. The results showed NiONPs induced the up-regulated protein expression of fibrotic factors collagen-1a1 (Col-1a1) and matrix metalloproteinas2 (MMP2) and JNK/c-Jun pathway activation. While these effects were reversed after JNK/c-Jun pathway was blocked by SP600125 (JNK pathway inhibitor), indicating the pathway was involved in NiONPs-induced excessive collagen formation. In conclusion, our results revealed the DE mRNAs and ncRNAs played crucial roles in NiONPs-induced liver fibrosis, and JNK/c-Jun pathway mediated the development of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Li
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Jinfa Zheng
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Han Liu
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Qing Gao
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Mengmeng Yang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Jiarong Tang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Hui Wang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Sheng Li
- Department of Public Health, The First People's Hospital of Lanzhou City, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Yingbiao Sun
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Xuhong Chang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
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Li WQ, Liu WH, Qian D, Liu J, Zhou SQ, Zhang L, Peng W, Su L, Zhang H. Traditional Chinese medicine: An important source for discovering candidate agents against hepatic fibrosis. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:962525. [PMID: 36081936 PMCID: PMC9445813 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.962525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatic fibrosis (HF) refers to the pathophysiological process of connective tissue dysplasia in the liver caused by various pathogenic factors. Nowadays, HF is becoming a severe threat to the health of human being. However, the drugs available for treating HF are limited. Currently, increasing natural agents derived from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been found to be beneficial for HF. A systemic literature search was conducted from PubMed, GeenMedical, Sci-Hub, CNKI, Google Scholar and Baidu Scholar, with the keywords of “traditional Chinese medicine,” “herbal medicine,” “natural agents,” “liver diseases,” and “hepatic fibrosis.” So far, more than 76 natural monomers have been isolated and identified from the TCMs with inhibitory effect on HF, including alkaloids, flavones, quinones, terpenoids, saponins, phenylpropanoids, and polysaccharides, etc. The anti-hepatic fibrosis effects of these compounds include hepatoprotection, inhibition of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) activation, regulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis & secretion, regulation of autophagy, and antioxidant & anti-inflammation, etc. Natural compounds and extracts from TCMs are promising agents for the prevention and treatment of HF, and this review would be of great significance to development of novel drugs for treating HF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Qing Li
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Wen-Hao Liu
- Department of Pharmacy, Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Die Qian
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Jia Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Shi-Qiong Zhou
- Hospital of Nursing, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei Peng
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- *Correspondence: Wei Peng, ; Li Su, ; Hong Zhang,
| | - Li Su
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Wei Peng, ; Li Su, ; Hong Zhang,
| | - Hong Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Wei Peng, ; Li Su, ; Hong Zhang,
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Wang T, Zhu J, Gao L, Wei M, Zhang D, Chen L, Wu H, Ma J, Li L, Zhang N, Wang Y, Xing Q, He L, Hong F, Qin S. Identification of circular RNA biomarkers for Pien Tze Huang treatment of CCl4‑induced liver fibrosis using RNA‑sequencing. Mol Med Rep 2022; 26:309. [PMID: 36004475 PMCID: PMC9437966 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2022.12825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Pien Tze Huang (PZH), a common hepatoprotective Traditional Chinese Medicine that has been found to be an effective treatment for carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic damage, including liver fibrosis. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) serve a crucial role in regulating gene expression levels via circRNA/micro (mi)RNA/mRNA networks in several human diseases and biological processes. However, whether circRNAs are involved in the underlying mechanism of the therapeutic effects of PZH on liver fibrosis remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate these effects using circRNA expression profiles from PZH-treated fibrotic livers in model mice. A case-control study on >59,476 circRNAs from CCl4-induced (control group, n=6) and PZH-treated (case group, n=6) mice was performed using circRNA sequencing in liver tissues. PZH treatment resulted in the differential expression of 91 circRNAs, including 58 upregulated and 33 downregulated circRNAs. Furthermore, the construction of competing endogenous networks also indicated that differentially expressed circRNAs acted as miRNA sponges. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis of miRNA targets demonstrated that PZH-affected circRNAs were mainly involved in biological processes such as ‘positive regulation of fibroblast proliferation’, ‘cellular response to interleukin-1’ and ‘regulation of DNA-templated transcription in response to stress’ and in a number of important pathways, such as ‘TNF signaling pathway’, ‘PI3K-Akt signaling pathway’, ‘IL-17 signaling pathway’ and ‘MAPK signaling pathway’. To further validate the bioinformatics data, reverse transcription–quantitative PCR was performed on seven miRNA targets in a human hepatic stellate LX-2 cell model. The results suggested that seven of the miRNAs exhibited regulatory patterns that were consistent with those of the transcriptome sequencing results. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the expression levels of dihydrodiol dehydrogenase and solute carrier family 7, member 11 gene were significantly associated with patient survival, 269 patients with liver hepatocellular carcinoma from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to provide evidence that PZH affects circRNA expression levels, which may serve important roles in PZH-treated fibrotic liver through the regulation of functional gene expression. In conclusion, the present study provided new insights into the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and identified potential novel, efficient, therapeutic targets against liver injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Wang
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Jinhang Zhu
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Longhui Gao
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Muyun Wei
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Di Zhang
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Luan Chen
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Hao Wu
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Jingsong Ma
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Lixing Li
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P.R. China
| | - Na Zhang
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Yanjing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint Laboratory of International Cooperation in Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P.R. China
| | - Qinghe Xing
- Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Children's Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 201102, P.R. China
| | - Lin He
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
| | - Fei Hong
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Pien Tze Huang Natural Medicine Research and Development, Zhangzhou Pien Tze Huang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Zhangzhou, Fujian 363000, P.R. China
| | - Shengying Qin
- Bio‑X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China
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