非酒精性脂肪性肝病研究进展

Network Pharmacology-Based Investigation of the Therapeutic Mechanisms of Action of Danning Tablets in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a rising global public health concern due to its prevalence. Danning Tablets (DNt), a composite prescription of Chinese herbal medicine, shows significant curative effects on NAFLD in clinical application. This study aimed to decipher the bioactive substances and potential mechanisms of action of DNt in the treatment of NAFLD, applying an integrated network pharmacology approach. First, the bioactive compounds of DNt were screened based on their pharmacokinetic properties, and the corresponding drug targets were predicted. Then, the NAFLD-related targets were collected. The overlapping targets between the putative targets of DNt and NAFLD-related targets were identified as the potential therapeutic targets of DNt against NAFLD. Subsequently, the networks were constructed and analyzed, and the key bioactive compounds and targets were screened out depending on their importance in the networks. Functional enrichment analysis was carried out to elucidate the potential mechanisms of DNt acting on NAFLD. Finally, a molecular docking simulation was implemented to assess the potential binding affinity between the key targets and the bioactive compounds. As a result, 43 bioactive compounds of DNt and 69 putative targets were identified. Based on the network analysis, we found seven key bioactive compounds (quercetin, ß-sitosterol, luteolin, kaempferol, supraene, curcumenolactone C, and stigmasterol) of DNt might treat NAFLD via intervening IL6, MAPK8, VEGFA, CASP3, ALB, APP, MYC, PPARG, and RELA. The functional enrichment analysis revealed that DNt might affect NAFLD by modulating the signaling pathways involved in lipid metabolism, inflammation, oxidation, insulin resistance (IR), atherosclerosis, and apoptosis. Furthermore, most key bioactive compounds might bind firmly with the key targets. This study predicted the multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway mechanisms of DNt in the treatment of NAFLD from a holistic perspective. DNt could be a promising agent for NAFLD, but further experimental verifications are still needed.

An ErChen and YinChen Decoction Ameliorates High-Fat-Induced Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Rats by Regulating JNK1 Signaling Pathway

ErChen and YinChen decoction (ECYCD) is an effective traditional Chinese medicine and has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), with good curative effects. However, the specific mechanisms underlying these effects are unclear. In this study, we determined the efficacy of ECYCD in a high-fat diet-induced NASH rat model, established by 8-week administration of a high-fat diet. ECYCD was administered daily for 4 weeks, after which the rats were euthanized. The results demonstrated that ECYCD ameliorated high-fat diet-induced NASH, as evidenced by decreased liver indexes, reduced hepatic lipid deposition and liver injury, lower serum biochemistry markers (including low-density lipoprotein), and reduced HOMA-IR scores. Moreover, levels of free fatty acids, tumor necrosis factor, and malondialdehyde were decreased, whereas glutathione was increased in the liver. Serum high-density lipoprotein was also increased in the liver, and ECYCD regulated the c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) signaling pathway by decreasing the levels of JNK1 protein, JNK1 mRNA, activator protein- (AP-) 1 protein, AP-1 mRNA, and phospho-insulin receptor substrate- (IRS-) 1^ser307 and increasing phopsho-PKB^ser473 levels. These results suggested that ECYCD could ameliorate high-fat diet-induced NASH in rats through JNK1 signaling. ECYCD may be a safe therapeutic option for the treatment of NASH.