Danggui-Shaoyao-San Attenuates Cognitive Impairment via the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis With Regulation of Lipid Metabolism in Scopolamine-Induced Amnesia

Natural products in atherosclerosis therapy by targeting PPARs: a review focusing on lipid metabolism and inflammation

Inflammation and dyslipidemia are critical inducing factors of atherosclerosis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors and control the expression of multiple genes that are involved in lipid metabolism and inflammatory responses. However, synthesized PPAR agonists exhibit contrary therapeutic effects and various side effects in atherosclerosis therapy. Natural products are structural diversity and have a good safety. Recent studies find that natural herbs and compounds exhibit attractive therapeutic effects on atherosclerosis by alleviating hyperlipidemia and inflammation through modulation of PPARs. Importantly, the preparation of natural products generally causes significantly lower environmental pollution compared to that of synthesized chemical compounds. Therefore, it is interesting to discover novel PPAR modulator and develop alternative strategies for atherosclerosis therapy based on natural herbs and compounds. This article reviews recent findings, mainly from the year of 2020 to present, about the roles of natural herbs and compounds in regulation of PPARs and their therapeutic effects on atherosclerosis. This article provides alternative strategies and theoretical basis for atherosclerosis therapy using natural herbs and compounds by targeting PPARs, and offers valuable information for researchers that are interested in developing novel PPAR modulators.

Targeting the gut-microbiota-brain axis in irritable bowel disease to improve cognitive function - recent knowledge and emerging therapeutic opportunities

The brain-gut axis forms a bidirectional communication system between the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and cognitive brain areas. Disturbances to this system in disease states such as inflammatory bowel disease have consequences for neuronal activity and subsequent cognitive function. The gut-microbiota-brain axis refers to the communication between gut-resident bacteria and the brain. This circuits exists to detect gut microorganisms and relay information to specific areas of the central nervous system (CNS) that in turn, regulate gut physiology. Changes in both the stability and diversity of the gut microbiota have been implicated in several neuronal disorders, including depression, autism spectrum disorder Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. Correcting this imbalance with medicinal herbs, the metabolic products of dysregulated bacteria and probiotics have shown hope for the treatment of these neuronal disorders. In this review, we focus on recent advances in our understanding of the intricate connections between the gut-microbiota and the brain. We discuss the contribution of gut microbiota to neuronal disorders and the tangible links between diseases of the GI tract with cognitive function and behaviour. In this regard, we focus on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) given its strong links to brain function and anxiety disorders. This adds to the growing body of evidence supporting targeted therapeutic strategies to modulate the gut microbiota for the treatment of brain/mental-health-related disease.

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of a ratio-optimized drug pair of Sophora flavescens Aiton and Coptis chinensis Franch and study on the mechanism of anti-colorectal cancer effect of two alkaloids thereof

The drug pair consisting of Sophora flavescens Aiton (Sophorae flavescentis radix, Kushen) and Coptis chinensis Franch. (Coptidis rhizoma, Huanglian), as described in Prescriptions for Universal Relief (Pujifang), is widely used to treat laxation. Matrine and berberine are the major active components of Kushen and Huanglian, respectively. These agents have shown remarkable anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects. A mouse model of colorectal cancer was used to determine the most effective combination of Kushen and Huanglian against anti-colorectal cancer. The results showed that the combination of Kushen and Huanglian at a 1:1 ratio exerted the best anti-colorectal cancer effect versus other ratios. Moreover, the anti-colorectal cancer effect and potential mechanism underlying the effects of matrine and berberine were evaluated by the analysis of combination treatment or monotherapy. In addition, the chemical constituents of Kushen and Huanglian were identified and quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). A total of 67 chemical components were identified from the Kushen-Huanglian drug pair (water extraction), and the levels of matrine and berberine were 129 and 232 µg/g, respectively. Matrine and berberine reduced the growth of colorectal cancer and relieved the pathological conditions in mice. In addition, the combination of matrine and berberine displayed better anti-colorectal cancer efficacy than monotherapy. Moreover, matrine and berberine reduced the relative abundance of Bacteroidota and Campilobacterota at phylum level and that of Helicobacter, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Candidatus_Arthromitus, norank_f_Lachnospiraceae, Rikenella, Odoribacter, Streptococcus, norank_f_Ruminococcaceae, and Anaerotruncus at the genus level. Western blotting results demonstrated that treatment with matrine and berberine decreased the protein expressions of c-MYC and RAS, whereas it increased that of sirtuin 3 (Sirt3). The findings indicated that the combination of matrine and berberine was more effective in inhibiting colorectal cancer than monotherapy. This beneficial effect might depend on the improvement of intestinal microbiota structure and regulation of the RAS/MEK/ERK-c-MYC-Sirt3 signaling axis.

Literature review on the interdisciplinary biomarkers of multi-target and multi-time herbal medicine therapy to modulate peripheral systems in cognitive impairment

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. The approved drug for AD has certain limitations such as a short period of cognitive improvement effect; moreover, the development of drug for AD therapeutic single target for Aβ clearance in brain ended in failure. Therefore, diagnosis and treatment of AD using a multi-target strategy according to the modulation of the peripheral system, which is not only limited to the brain, is needed. Traditional herbal medicines can be beneficial for AD based on a holistic theory and personalized treatment according to the time-order progression of AD. This literature review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of herbal medicine therapy based on syndrome differentiation, a unique theory of traditional diagnosis based on the holistic system, for multi-target and multi-time treatment of mild cognitive impairment or AD stage. Possible interdisciplinary biomarkers including transcriptomic and neuroimaging studies by herbal medicine therapy for AD were investigated. In addition, the mechanism by which herbal medicines affect the central nervous system in connection with the peripheral system in an animal model of cognitive impairment was reviewed. Herbal medicine may be a promising therapy for the prevention and treatment of AD through a multi-target and multi-time strategy. This review would contribute to the development of interdisciplinary biomarkers and understanding of the mechanisms of action of herbal medicine in AD.

Modulation of the Gut Microbiota in Memory Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease via the Inhibition of the Parasympathetic Nervous System

The gut microbiota has been demonstrated to play a critical role in maintaining cognitive function via the gut-brain axis, which may be related to the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). However, the exact mechanism remains to be determined. We investigated that patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) could exhibit an altered gut microbiota through the suppression of the PNS, compared to the healthy individuals, using the combined gut microbiota data from previous human studies. The hypothesis was validated in rats to suppress the PNS by scopolamine injections. The human fecal bacterial FASTA/Q files were selected and combined from four different AD studies (n = 410). All rats had a high-fat diet and treatments for six weeks. The MD rats had memory impairment by scopolamine injection (2 mg/kg body weight; MD, Control) or no memory impairment by saline injection. The scopolamine-injected rats had a donepezil intake as the positive group. In the optimal model generated from the XGboost analysis, Blautia luti, Pseudomonas mucidoiens, Escherichia marmotae, and Gemmiger formicillis showed a positive correlation with MCI while Escherichia fergusonii, Mycobacterium neglectum, and Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus were positively correlated with AD in the participants with enterotype Bacteroides (ET-B, n = 369). The predominant bacteria in the AD group were negatively associated in the networking analysis with the bacteria in the healthy group of ET-B participants. From the animal study, the relative abundance of Bacteroides and Bilophilia was lower, and that of Escherichia, Blautia, and Clostridium was higher in the scopolamine-induced memory deficit (MD) group than in the normal group. These results suggest that MCI was associated with the PNS suppression and could progress to AD by exacerbating the gut dysbiosis. MCI increased Clostridium and Blautia, and its progression to AD elevated Escherichia and Pseudomonas. Therefore, the modulation of the PNS might be linked to an altered gut microbiota and brain function, potentially through the gut-brain axis.

Using network pharmacology to explore the mechanism of Danggui-Shaoyao-San in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease

Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DSS) is one of traditional Chinese medicine, which recently was found to play a protective role in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, the pharmacological mechanisms of DSS remain obscure. This study would explore the molecular mechanisms and bioactive ingredients of DSS in the treatment of DKD through network pharmacology. The potential target genes of DKD were obtained through OMIM database, the DigSee database and the DisGeNET database. DSS-related targets were acquired from the BATMAN-TCM database and the STITCH database. The common targets of DSS and DKD were selected for analysis in the STRING database, and the results were imported into Cytoscape to construct a protein-protein interaction network. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways enrichment analysis and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis were carried out to further explore the mechanisms of DSS in treating DKD. Molecular docking was conducted to identify the potential interactions between the compounds and the hub genes. Finally, 162 therapeutic targets of DKD and 550 target genes of DSS were obtained from our screening process. Among this, 28 common targets were considered potential therapeutic targets of DSS for treating DKD. Hub signaling pathways including HIF-1 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, mTOR signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway may be involved in the treatment of DKD using DSS. Furthermore, TNF and PPARG, and poricoic acid C and stigmasterol were identified as hub genes and main active components in this network, respectively. In this study, DSS appears to treat DKD by multi-targets and multi-pathways such as inflammatory, oxidative stress, autophagy and fibrosis, which provided a novel perspective for further research of DSS for the treatment of DKD.