Potential Mechanism of S. baicalensis on Lipid Metabolism Explored via Network Pharmacology and Untargeted Lipidomics

Exploring global research trends in Chinese medicine for atherosclerosis: a bibliometric study 2012-2023

Background

While Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) boasts an extensive historical lineage and abundant clinical expertise in addressing atherosclerosis, this field is yet to be penetrated adequately by bibliometric studies. This study is envisaged to evaluate the contemporary scenario of TCM in conjunction with atherosclerosis over the preceding decade while also identifying forthcoming research trends and emerging topics via the lens of bibliometric analysis.

Methods

Literature pertaining to TCM and atherosclerosis, circulated between January 1, 2012 and November 14, 2023, was garnered for the purpose of this research. The examination embraced annual publications, primary countries/regions, engaged institutions and authors, scholarly journals, references, and keywords, utilizing analytical tools like Bibliometrix, CiteSpace, ScimagoGraphica, and VOSviewer present in the R package.

Result

This field boasts a total of 1,623 scholarly articles, the majority of which have been contributed by China in this field, with significant contributions stemming from the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Moreover, this field has received financial support from both the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key Basic Research Development Program. Wang Yong tops the list in terms of publication count, while Xu Hao's articles take the lead for the total number of citations, positioning them at the core of the authors' collaborative network. The Journal of Ethnopharmacology leads with the most publications and boasts the greatest total number of citations. Principal research foci within the intersection of Chinese Medicine and Atherosclerosis encompass disease characteristics and pathogenic mechanisms, theoretical underpinnings and syndrome-specific treatments in Chinese medicine, potentialities of herbal interventions, and modulation exerted by Chinese medicines on gut microbiota.

Conclusion

This analysis offers a sweeping survey of the contemporary condition, principal foci, and progressive trends in worldwide research related to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and atherosclerosis. It further delves into an in-depth dissection of prominent countries, research institutions, and scholars that have made noteworthy strides in this discipline. Additionally, the report analyzes the most cited articles, research developments, and hotspots in the field, providing a reference for future research directions for clinical researchers and practitioners.

Metabolomics and lipidomics combined with serum pharmacochemistry uncover the potential mechanism of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction alleviates atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Atherosclerosis (AS) is one of the main cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) leading to an increase in global mortality, and its key pathological features are lipid accumulation and oxidative stress. Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction (HLJDD), a representative formula for clearing heat and detoxifying, has been shown to reduce aortic lipid plaque and improve AS. However, multiple components and multiple targets of HLJDD pose a challenge in comprehending its comprehensive mechanism in the treatment of AS.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study was designed to illustrate the anti-AS mechanisms of HLJDD in an apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mouse model from a metabolic perspective.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

ApoE-/- mice were kept on a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce AS. Serum total cholesterol (TC), total triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were determined to evaluate the influence of HLJDD on dyslipidemia. Oil red O was used to stain mouse aortic lipid plaques, and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to assess the pathological changes in the aortic roots. Metabolomics and lipidomics combined with serum pharmacochemistry were performed to research the HLJDD mechanism of alleviating AS.

RESULTS

In this study, HLJDD treatment improved serum biochemical levels and histopathological conditions in AS mice. A total of 6 metabolic pathways (arginine biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid, sphingolipid, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, and glycerolipid metabolism) related to 25 metabolic biomarkers and 41 lipid biomarkers were clarified, and 22 prototype components migrating to blood were identified after oral administration of HLJDD.

CONCLUSION

HLJDD improved AS induced by HFD in ApoE-/- mice. The effects of HLJDD were mainly attributed to regulating lipid metabolism by regulating the metabolic pathways of glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, and glycerolipids and reducing the levels of oxidative stress by upregulating arginine biosynthesis.

Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Induced by Obesity, Gestational Diabetes, and Preeclampsia in Pregnancy: Role of High-Density Lipoproteins as Vectors for Bioactive Compounds

Inflammation and oxidative stress are essential components in a myriad of pathogenic entities that lead to metabolic and chronic diseases. Moreover, inflammation in its different phases is necessary for the initiation and maintenance of a healthy pregnancy. Therefore, an equilibrium between a necessary/pathologic level of inflammation and oxidative stress during pregnancy is needed to avoid disease development. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are important for a healthy pregnancy and a good neonatal outcome. Their role in fetal development during challenging situations is vital for maintaining the equilibrium. However, in certain conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, and other cardiovascular diseases, it has been observed that HDL loses its protective properties, becoming dysfunctional. Bioactive compounds have been widely studied as mediators of inflammation and oxidative stress in different diseases, but their mechanisms of action are still unknown. Nonetheless, these agents, which are obtained from functional foods, increase the concentration of HDL, TRC, and antioxidant activity. Therefore, this review first summarizes several mechanisms of HDL participation in the equilibrium between inflammation and oxidative stress. Second, it gives an insight into how HDL may act as a vector for bioactive compounds. Third, it describes the relationships between the inflammation process in pregnancy and HDL activity. Consequently, different databases were used, including MEDLINE, PubMed, and Scopus, where scientific articles published in the English language up to 2023 were identified.

Jiawei Danxuan Koukang Alleviates Arecoline Induced Oral Mucosal Lesions: Network Pharmacology and the Combined Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) and Mass Spectrometry (MS)

Purpose

Arecoline is one of the main toxic components of arecoline to cause oral mucosal lesions or canceration, which seriously affects the survival and life quality of patients. This study analyzed the mechanism of Jiawei Danxuan Koukang (JDK) in alleviating arecoline induced oral mucosal lesions, to provide new insights for the treatment of oral submucosal fibrosis (OSF) or cancerosis.

Methods

Metabolomics was applied to analyze the composition of JDK and serum metabolites. The active ingredients of JDK were analyzed by the combined ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The target network of JDK, metabolites and OSF was analyzed by network pharmacology, and molecular docking. Oral mucosal lesions and fibrosis were analyzed by HE and Masson staining. Cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis were detected. The expressions of α-SMA, Collagen I, Vimentin, Snail, E-cadherin, AR and NOTCH1 were detected by Western blot.

Results

Arecoline induced the gradual atrophy and thinning of rat oral mucosal, collagen accumulation, the increase expressions of fibrosis-related proteins and Th17/Treg ratio. JDK inhibited arecoline-induced oral mucosal lesions and inflammatory infiltration. Arecoline induced changes of serum metabolites in Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, Alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism and Arginine biosynthesis pathways, which were reversed by M-JDK. Quercetin and AR were the active ingredients and key targets of JDK, metabolites and OSF interaction. Arecoline promoted the expression of AR protein, and the proliferation of oral fibroblasts. Quercetin inhibited the effect of arecoline on oral fibroblasts, but was reversed by AR overexpression. Arecoline induced NOTCH1 expression in CAL27 and SCC-25 cells, and promoted cell proliferation, but was reversed by M-JDK or quercetin.

Conclusion

JDK improved the arecoline-induced OSF and serum metabolite functional pathway. Quercetin targeted AR protein to improve arecoline-induced OSF. JDK and quercetin inhibited arecoline-induced NOTCH1 protein expression in CAL27 and SCC-25 cells to play an anti-oral cancer role.

Circulating sepsis-related metabolite sphinganine could protect against intestinal damage during sepsis

Introduction

Sepsis is intricately linked to intestinal damage and barrier dysfunction. At present times, there is a growing interest in a metabolite-based therapy for multiple diseases.

Methods

Serum samples from septic patients and healthy individuals were collected and their metabonomics profiling assessed using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-TOFMS). The eXtreme Gradient Boosting algorithms (XGBOOST) method was used to screen essential metabolites associated with sepsis, and five machine learning models, including Logistic Regression, XGBoost, GaussianNB(GNB), upport vector machines(SVM) and RandomForest were constructed to distinguish sepsis including a training set (75%) and validation set(25%). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and Brier scores were used to compare the prediction performances of different models. Pearson analysis was used to analysis the relationship between the metabolites and the severity of sepsis. Both cellular and animal models were used to HYPERLINK "javascript:;" assess the function of the metabolites.

Results

The occurrence of sepsis involve metabolite dysregulation. The metabolites mannose-6-phosphate and sphinganine as the optimal sepsis-related variables screened by XGBOOST algorithm. The XGBoost model (AUROC=0.956) has the most stable performance to establish diagnostic model among the five machine learning methods. The SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) package was used to interpret the XGBOOST model. Pearson analysis reinforced the expression of Sphinganine, Mannose 6-phosphate were positively associated with the APACHE-II, PCT, WBC, CRP, and IL-6. We also demonstrated that sphinganine strongly diminished the LDH content in LPS-treated Caco-2 cells. In addition, using both in vitro and in vivo examination, we revealed that sphinganine strongly protects against sepsis-induced intestinal barrier injury.

Discussion

These findings highlighted the potential diagnostic value of the ML, and also provided new insight into enhanced therapy and/or preventative measures against sepsis.

Research Progress on the Pharmacodynamic Mechanisms of Sini Powder against Depression from the Perspective of the Central Nervous System

Depression is a highly prevalent emotional disorder characterized by persistent low mood, diminished interest, and loss of pleasure. The pathological causes of depression are associated with neuronal atrophy, synaptic loss, and neurotransmitter activity decline in the central nervous system (CNS) resulting from injuries, such as inflammatory responses. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory, patients with depression often exhibit the liver qi stagnation syndrome type. Sini Powder (SNP) is a classic prescription for treating such depression-related syndrome types in China. This study systematically summarized clinical applications and experimental studies of SNP for treatments of depression. We scrutinized the active components of SNP with blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and speculated about the corresponding pharmacodynamic pathways relevant to depression treatment through intervening in the CNS. Therefore, this article can enhance our understanding of SNP's pharmacological mechanisms and formula construction for depression treatment. Moreover, a re-demonstration of this classic TCM prescription in the modern-science language is of great significance for future drug development and research.

Baicalin ameliorates Mycoplasma gallisepticum-induced inflammatory injury via inhibiting STIM1-regulated ceramide accumulation in DF-1 cells

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is dependent on its host for many nutrients due to the loss of many important metabolic pathways. Ceramide is a sphingolipid that regulates multiple cellular processes in eukaryotic cell. Several studies highlighted the crucial role of ceramide on the pathogenesis of various pathogens. This study aimed to determine whether ceramide plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of MG. Based on an MG infection model in DF-1 cells, the results revealed that MG infection induced ceramide accumulation in DF-1 cells. Inhibiting the de novo synthesis of ceramide significantly inhibited MG proliferation and inflammatory injury caused by MG in DF-1 cells. Meanwhile, MG infection led to endoplasmic reticulum stress, and pharmacologic inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress prevented ceramide accumulation and MG proliferation in DF-1 cells, alleviating the inflammatory injury caused by MG. In addition, MG infection significantly promoted expression level of stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1), thus induced calcium overload and oxidative stress. Furthermore, inhibition of STIM1 expression partially restored calcium homeostasis and mitigated oxidative stress, thus alleviated endoplasmic reticulum stress. Importantly, the inflammatory injury caused by MG were partially ameliorated by baicalin treatment (20 µg/mL) through downregulating STIM1 expression. In summary, these results suggests that ceramide accumulation through the de novo pathway plays an important role to promote MG proliferation and baicalin can alleviate MG infection induced inflammatory injury via regulating STIM1-related oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress and ceramide accumulation in DF-1 cells.

Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Analyses Unveil the Mechanisms of Yiguanjian Decoction against Parkinson’s Disease from Inner/Outer Brain Perspective

Objective

This study aims to explore the pharmacodynamic mechanism of Yiguanjian (YGJ) decoction against Parkinson's disease (PD) through integrating the central nervous (inner brain) and peripheral system (outer brain) relationship spectrum.

Methods

The active components of YGJ were achieved from the TCMSP, TCMID, and TCM@Taiwan databases. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability of the active components along with their corresponding targets was evaluated utilizing the existing website, namely, SwissADME and SwissTargetPrediction. The targets of PD were determined through database retrieval. The interaction network was constructed upon the STRING database, followed by the visualization using Cytoscape software. Then, we performed Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses on potential targets. Finally, the molecular docking approach was employed to assess the binding affinity between key components and key targets.

Results

Overall, we identified 79 active components, 128 potential targets of YGJ, and 97 potential targets of YGJ-BBB potentially suitable for the treatment of PD. GO and KEGG analyses showed that the YGJ treatment of PD mainly relied on PI3K-Akt pathway while the YGJ-BBB was mostly involved in endocrine resistance. The molecular docking results displayed high affinity between multiple compounds and targets in accordance with previous observations.

Conclusions

Our study unveiled the potential mechanisms of YGJ against PD from a systemic perspective: (1) for the YGJ, they have potential exerting effects on the peripheral system and inhibiting neuronal apoptosis through regulating the PI3K-Akt pathway; (2) for the YGJ-BBB, they can directly modulate endocrine resistance of the central nervous and holistically enhance body resistance to PD along with YGJ on PI3K-Akt pathway.

Mechanisms of Banxia Xiexin Decoction Underlying Chronic Atrophic Gastritis via Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is a common chronically digestive disease which is notoriously characterized by atrophy of the epithelium and glands of the gastric mucosa, reduced number, thinning of the gastric mucosa, thickening of the mucosal base, or pyloric glandular hyperplasia and intestinal glandular hyperplasia, or with atypical hyperplasia. Banxia Xiexin decoction (BXD) has been applied for two thousand years and is considered an effective therapy for functional dyspepsia, gastroesophageal reflux disease and colon cancer. In this current study, to probe into the underlying mechanism of BXD on CAG, network pharmacology was conducted to collect druggable ingredients and predicted targets of BXD and the CAG-associated targets were harvested to take intersection with druggable ingredients from BXD predicted targets to obtain potential critical action targets. Subsequently, GO enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis were conducted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and roles from the perspective of overall pathways and cellular functions. Eventually, molecular docking integrated with molecular dynamics simulations was conducted to further investigate the mechanism of action of BXD active ingredients on CAG from drug molecule-target interactions and to provide a theoretical basis for BXD drug development.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula Jian Pi Tiao Gan Yin Reduces Obesity in Mice by Modulating the Gut Microbiota and Fecal Metabolism

The current study employed the high-fat diet (HFD) induced murine model to assess the relationship between the effect of Jian Pi Tiao Gan Yin (JPTGY) and the alterations of gut microbiota and fecal metabolism. C57BL/6 mice were used to establish an animal model of obesity via HFD induce. Serum biochemical indicators of lipid metabolism were used to evaluate the pharmacodynamics of JPTGY in obese mice. Bacterial communities and metabolites in the feces specimens from the controls, the Group HFD, and the JPTGY-exposed corpulency group were studied by 16s rDNA genetic sequence in combination with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based untargeted fecal metabolomics techniques. Results revealed that JPTGY significantly decreased the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Moreover, JPTGY could up-regulate the abundance and diversity of fecal microbiota, which was characterized by the higher phylum of proteobacteria. Consistently, at the genus levels, JPTGY supplementation induced enrichments in Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group, Oscillibacter, Turicibacter, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, and Intestinimonas, which were intimately related to 14 pivotal fecal metabolins in respond to JPTGY therapy were determined. What is more, metabolomics further analyses show that the therapeutic effect of JPTGY for obesity involves linoleic acid (LA) metabolism paths, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) metabolism paths, glycerophospholipid metabolism paths, arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism paths, and pyrimidine metabolism paths, which implied the potential mechanism of JPTGY in treating obesity. It was concluded that the linking of corpulency phenotypes with intestinal flora and fecal metabolins unveils the latent causal link of JPTGY in the treatment of hyperlipidemia and obesity.