Action Mechanism Underlying Improvement Effect of Fuzi Lizhong Decoction on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Study Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Decoding the role of immune T cells: A new territory for improvement of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a new emerging concept and is associated with metabolic dysfunction, generally replacing the name of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) due to heterogeneous liver condition and inaccuracies in definition. The prevalence of MAFLD is rising by year due to dietary changes, metabolic disorders, and no approved therapy, affecting a quarter of the global population and representing a major economic problem that burdens healthcare systems. Currently, in addition to the common causative factors like insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and lipotoxicity, the role of immune cells, especially T cells, played in MAFLD is increasingly being emphasized by global scholars. Based on the diverse classification and pathophysiological effects of immune T cells, we comprehensively analyzed their bidirectional regulatory effects on the hepatic inflammatory microenvironment and MAFLD progression. This interaction between MAFLD and T cells was also associated with hepatic-intestinal immune crosstalk and gut microbiota homeostasis. Moreover, we pointed out several T-cell-based therapeutic approaches including but not limited to adoptive transfer of T cells, fecal microbiota transplantation, and drug therapy, especially for natural products and Chinese herbal prescriptions. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of the important role of T cells played in MAFLD progression and corresponding therapeutic options and provides a potential reference for further drug development.

Corilagin prevents non-alcoholic fatty liver disease via improving lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis in high fat diet-fed mice

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been considered to be one of the most common chronic liver diseases. However, no validated pharmacological therapies have been officially proved in clinic due to its complex pathogenesis. The purpose of this study was to examine the protective effects of Corilagin (referred to Cori) against NAFLD in mice under a high fat diet (HFD) condition. Mice were fed either a normal control diet (NCD) or HFD with or without Cori (5 or 10 mg/kg body weight) for 15 weeks. In our results, Cori treatment significantly attenuated HFD-induced hepatic steatosis, high NAFLD activity score (NAD) and liver injury. Consistently, Cori treatment remarkably alleviated HFD-induced hepatic lipid accumulation (e.g., triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) contents in liver), and improved plasma lipid concentrations (e.g., plasma TG, TC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c)). Moreover, Cori treatment ameliorated NAFLD associated metabolic disorders such as glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in HFD-fed mice. Additionally, Cori treatment dramatically changed HFD-induced liver gene expression profiles, and identified overlapped differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between NCD vs. HFD group and HFD vs. HCR (high fat diet plus treatment with Cori) group. With these DEGs, we observed a marked enrichment of Gene Ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, which were closely associated with the metabolic balance in liver. Particularly, we found several potential hub proteins against NAFLD development with analyses of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and qPCR assays. Collectively, our results revealed the important protective effects of Cori against the progress of NAFLD, which was probably mediated through improving dysregulated lipid metabolism and insulin resistance in HFD-fed mice. Additionally, Cori-dependent overlapped DEGs might serve as a featured NAFLD-associated gene expression signature for the diagnosis, treatment, as well as drug discovery and development of NAFLD in the near future.

Mechanism of Zhen Wu Decoction in the Treatment of Heart Failure Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Heart failure (HF) is a serious manifestation or advanced stage of various cardiovascular diseases, and its mortality and rehospitalization rate are still on the rise in China. Based on the network pharmacology method, 59 components of Zhen Wu decoction (ZWD) and 83 target genes related to HF were obtained. Through the PPI network, four potential therapeutic targets were identified: AKT1, IL6, JUN, and MAPK8. The beneficial components of ZWD might intervene HF through the AGE-RAGE signalling pathway in the diabetes component, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, the TNF signalling pathway, TB, and Kaposi sarcoma related herpesvirus infection, according to a KEGG enrichment study. The protein interaction network of candidate targets was constructed by the STRING database, and the protein interaction network was clustered by MEODE software. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed on the core modules obtained by clustering. Finally, AutoDock Vina software was used for molecular docking verification of key targets and active ingredients. The result was that 75 active ingredients and 109 genes were screened as potential active ingredients and potential targets of Shengjie Tongyu decoction for CHF treatment. The main active components were quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, dehydrated icariin, isorhamnetin, formononetin, and other flavonoids. Il-6, MAPK1, MAPK8, AKT1, VEGFA, and JUN were selected as the core targets. Molecular docking showed that the key components were well connected with the target. GO enrichment analysis showed that Shengjie Tongyu decoction could play a role through multiple biological pathways including angiogenesis, regulation of endothelial cell proliferation, binding of cytokine receptors, negative regulation of apoptotic signalling pathways, regulation of nitric oxide synthase activity, and reactive oxygen metabolism. Key pathways mainly focus on the toll-like receptor signalling pathway, nod-like receptor signalling pathway, MAPK signalling pathway, mTOR signalling pathway, JAK-STAT signalling pathway, VEGF signalling pathway, and other pathways. Through molecular docking technology, it was found that a variety of effective components in ZWD, such as kaempferol. Molecular docking technology has preliminatively verified the network pharmacology and laid a foundation for the follow-up pharmacological research.