The effects of Panax notoginseng saponins on the cytokines and peritoneal function in rats with peritoneal fibrosis

Integrated RNA-sequencing and network pharmacology approach reveals the protection of Yiqi Huoxue formula against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by interfering with core transcription factors

BACKGROUND

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a refractory disease. Therefore, developing effective therapies for IPF is the need of the hour.

PURPOSE

Yiqi Huoxue Formula (YQHX) is an herbal formula comprising three herbal medicines: Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. (Chuanxiong Rhizoma, CR), Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen (Notoginseng Radix Et Rhizoma, NR) and Panax ginseng C. A. Mey. (Ginseng Radix Et Rhizoma, GR). This study aims to determine the anti-pulmonary fibrosis effect of YQHX and explore its mechanism of action.

STUDY

Design and Methods: The chemical components in the GR, CR and NR extracts were identified by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. A TGF-β1-induced myofibroblast cell model was used to test the anti-fibrosis effect of GR, CR, NR and YQHX. RNA-sequencing was used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after YQHX treatment. Subsequently, gene enrichment analysis and key transcription factors (TFs) prediction for YQHX-regulated DEGs was performed. The active constituents of GR, CR and NR were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform. Targets of the active constituents were predicted using the similarity ensemble approach search server and Swiss Target Prediction tool. YQHX-targeted key TFs that transcribed the DEGs were screened out. Then, the effect of YQHX on the bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis mouse model was studied. Finally, one of the predicted TFs, STAT3, was selected to validate the prediction accuracy.

RESULTS

Seven, two, and five compounds were identified in the GR, CR, and NR extracts, respectively. YQHX and its constituents-GR, CR and NR-inhibited the expression of fibrotic markers, including α -SMA and fibronectin, indicating that YQHX inhibited TGF-β1-induced myofibroblast activation. RNA-sequencing identified 291 genes that were up-regulated in the TGF-β1 group but down-regulated after YQHX treatment. In total, 55 key TFs that transcribed YQHX-regulated targets were predicted. A regulatory network of 24 active ingredients and 232 corresponding targets for YQHX was established. Among YQHX's predicted targets, 20 were TFs. On overlapping YQHX-targeted TFs and DEGs' key TFs, six key TFs, including HIF1A, STAT6, STAT3, PPARA, DDIT3 and AR, were identified as the targets of YQHX. Additionally, YQHX alleviated bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in a mouse model by inhibiting the phosphorylation of STAT3 in the lungs of pulmonary fibrosis mice.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides pharmacological support for the use of YQHX in the treatment of IPF. The potential mechanism of action of YQHX is speculated to involve the modulation of core TFs and inhibition of pathogenetic gene expressions in IPF.

Panax notoginseng saponins alleviates advanced glycation end product-induced apoptosis by upregulating SIRT1 and antioxidant expression levels in HUVECs

The present study examined whether Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) alleviated advanced glycation end product (AGE)-induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). HUVECs were incubated with 300 µg/ml AGEs alone or AGEs and PNS (0.05, 0.5 or 1 mg/ml) for 48 h. The results of the present study demonstrated that PNS effectively promoted cell viability, inhibited apoptosis and suppressed the activity of caspase-3 in AGE-induced HUVECs. The activities of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and malondialdehyde were reduced, and superoxide dismutase activity was increased following treatment with PNS. Furthermore, PNS significantly increased the expression of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 proteins, and suppressed the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxyggenase-2 proteins in AGE-induced HUVECs. Therefore, the present study demonstrated that PNS reduced AGE-induced apoptosis by upregulating SIRT1 and antioxidants in HUVECs. The present findings suggest that the PNS may as an important pharmacological agent for AGE-induced cardiovascular injury.