Liangxue Jiedu Formula Improves Psoriasis and Dyslipidemia Comorbidity via PI3K/Akt/mTOR Pathway

Liangxue Jiedu formula improves imiquimod-induced psoriasiform dermatitis with circadian desynchrony by regulating Th17 cell differentiation based on network pharmacological analysis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Liangxue Jiedu formula (LXJDF) is an effective traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula for treating psoriasis of blood-heat syndrome and has been used in clinics for decades.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to discover the mechanism of LXJDF in psoriasis and the circadian clock by network pharmacology and experimental studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The compounds of LXJDF were obtained from the TCMSP and BATMAN-TCM databases. The genes related to psoriasis and circadian rhythm/clock were identified by the OMIM and GeneCards databases. Then, target genes were integrated by Venn and analyzed by the String, CytoNCA, DAVID (GO and KEGG) databases, and the network was constructed using Cytoscape. Mice were raised under light disturbance for fourteen days. On the eighth day, mouse dorsal skin was shaved and smeared with 62.5 mg 5% imiquimod at 8:00 (ZT0) for six successive days. Mice were randomly divided into the model, LXJDF-H (49.2 g/kg·bw), LXJDF-L (24.6 g/kg·bw), and positive drug (dexamethasone) groups. Other mice were smeared with Vaseline under the normal light cycle as the control. The drug of each group was administered at 10:00 (ZT2) and 22:00 (ZT14). The skin lesions were observed, and PASI was scored daily. HE and immunofluorescence were used to measure pathological morphology. Th17 cytokines in serum and skin were measured by flow cytometry and qPCR. Circadian clock gene and protein expression levels were determined by qPCR and Western blotting.

RESULTS

We found 34 potential targets of LXJDF in the treatment of psoriasis and circadian rhythm and confirmed their importance by topology analysis. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that the two major pathways were Th17 cell differentiation and the HIF-1 signaling pathway. At ZT2 and ZT14, LXJDF improved IMQ-induced light disturbance mouse skin lesions, including alleviating scales, erythema, and infiltration, reducing PASI, and inhibiting keratinocyte hyperproliferation and parakeratosis. LXJDF reduced IL-17A, IL-17F, TNF-α, and IL-6 in serum at ZT2 and increased IL-10 at ZT2 and ZT14. LXJDF downregulated the expression of IL-17A and IL-17F in skin. At ZT2, LXJDF significantly upregulated CLOCK and REV-ERBα expression and downregulated HIF-1α expression. At ZT14, LXJDF decreased HIF-1α and RORγt expression and significantly increased REV-ERBα expression.

CONCLUSION

LXJDF improves psoriasis dermatitis with circadian rhythm disorders by regulating Th17 cell differentiation.

Association between psoriasis and serum apolipoprotein A1 and B: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Psoriasis has been linked to dyslipidemia. However, the magnitude of the association between psoriasis and serum apolipoproteins A1 and B remains unclear.

Methods

We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for eligible studies published before August 10, 2023. Data were pooled using Stata software. We adopted a random-effects model for the meta-analysis. Additionally, we conducted subgroup analyses of the studies according to the psoriasis type and matched body mass index (BMI).

Results

Seventeen studies involving 2467 participants were included. Psoriasis was associated with decreased serum apolipoprotein A1 (weighted mean difference [WMD] = -9.05, P < 0.001) and increased serum apolipoprotein B (WMD = 11.68, P < 0.001). In subgroup analysis after matching BMI, the findings showing an association of psoriasis with serum apolipoprotein A1 (WMD = -14.07, P < 0.001) and serum apolipoprotein B (WMD = 13.07, P < 0.001) were consistent with the overall results. The subgroup analysis for the presence or absence of psoriatic arthritis showed that serum apolipoprotein A1 was significantly decreased in psoriasis with (WMD = -11.29, P < 0.001) and without arthritis (WMD = -8.69, P = 0.039); whereas serum apolipoprotein B was significantly increased in psoriasis with (WMD = 13.57, P < 0.001) and without arthritis (WMD = 9.21, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Our study revealed that psoriasis is associated with decreased serum apolipoprotein A1 and increased serum apolipoprotein B levels compared with healthy controls.

Efficacy and Key Materials of East Asian Herbal Medicine Combined with Conventional Medicine on Inflammatory Skin Lesion in Patients with Psoriasis Vulgaris: A Meta-Analysis, Integrated Data Mining, and Network Pharmacology

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that places a great burden on both individuals and society. The use of East Asian herbal medicine (EAHM) in combination with conventional medications is emerging as an effective strategy to control the complex immune-mediated inflammation of this disease from an integrative medicine (IM) perspective. The safety and efficacy of IM compared to conventional medicine (CM) were evaluated by collecting randomized controlled trial literature from ten multinational research databases. We then searched for important key materials based on integrated drug data mining. Network pharmacology analysis was performed to predict the mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect. Data from 126 randomized clinical trials involving 11,139 patients were used. Compared with CM, IM using EAHM showed significant improvement in the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) 60 (RR: 1.4280; 95% CI: 1.3783-1.4794; p < 0.0001), PASI score (MD: -3.3544; 95% CI: -3.7608 to -2.9481; p < 0.0001), inflammatory skin lesion outcome, quality of life, serum inflammatory indicators, and safety index of psoriasis. Through integrated data mining of intervention data, we identified four herbs that were considered to be representative of the overall clinical effects of IM: Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) DC., Isatis tinctoria subsp. athoa (Boiss.) Papan., Paeonia × suffruticosa Andrews, and Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl. They were found to have mechanisms to inhibit pathological keratinocyte proliferation and immune-mediated inflammation, which are major pathologies of psoriasis, through multiple pharmacological actions on 19 gene targets and 8 pathways in network pharmacology analysis. However, the quality of the clinical trial design and pharmaceutical quality control data included in this study is still not optimal; therefore, more high-quality clinical and non-clinical studies are needed to firmly validate the information explored in this study. This study is informative in that it presents a focused hypothesis and methodology for the value and direction of such follow-up studies.

TRIM22 actives PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway to promote Psoriasis through enhancing cell proliferation and inflammation and inhibiting autophagy

OBJECTIVE

To reveal the function and underlying mechanism of Tri-domain protein 22 (TRIM22) in psoriasis.

MEHTODS

M5 cytokines were applied in HaCat cells to mimic psoriasis in vitro. The TRIM22-silencing virus were established to knockdown of TRIM22 in HaCat cells. Western blot and/or real-time PCR were used to detect the expression of TRIM22, KRT1, KRT6, p-P65, P65, LC3, Beclin 1, P62, p-PI3K, PI3K, p-Akt, Akt, p-mTOR and mTOR. ELISA kits were applied to assess levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-18 and HMGB1.

RESULTS

TRIM22 expression levels were upregulated in M5-treated HaCat cells. M5 treatment enhanced cell proliferation and inflammation, and inhibited autophagy in HaCat cells which were effectively reversed by TRIM22 deficiency. Activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is an essential promoter of cell proliferation and inflammation, and inhibitor of autophagy in psoriasis. TRIM22 deficiency blocked M5-induced activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in HaCat cells.

CONCLUSIONS

TRIM22 facilitates cell proliferation and inflammation, and suppresses autophagy in M5-treated HaCat cells through activating PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, and inhibition of TRIM22 can be a novel potential treatment for psoriasis.

Elevated cholesteryl ester transfer and phospholipid transfer proteins aggravated psoriasis in imiquimod-induced mouse models

Background

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder related to dyslipidemia, with decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Various cell types express phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) as well as cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP). Their elevated levels among transgenic (Tg) mice led to reduced HDL and a higher risk of atherosclerosis (AS). This study examined whether elevated CETP and PLTP could aggravate psoriasis in a psoriasis vulgaris mouse model.

Methods

The back skins of CETP-Tg, PLTP-Tg, and C57BL/6 male mice, aged six to 8 weeks, were shaved for imiquimod cream (IMQ) (5%) treatment for five consecutive days. The clinical pathological parameters were rated independently using the modified target lesion psoriasis severity score. The skin sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin were scored by the Baker score. Epidermal thickening and differentiation and inflammatory factor infiltration were determined by immunohistochemistry. Inflammatory cytokine levels were measured using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. This work employed SPSS Statistics Version to conduct statistical analyses.

Results

In this study, CETP-Tg and PLTP-Tg mice had higher clinical and histological scores than wild-type (WT) mice. Immunohistochemistry of the epidermis and dermis revealed a high proportion of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) positivity within psoriatic skin lesions of CETP-Tg and PLTP-Tg mice compared with WT mice. Interferon-α (IFN-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-22, and IL-23p19 mRNA levels increased within CETP-Tg and PLTP-Tg mice compared with WT counterparts. In comparison with WT mice, plasma tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels, rather than IL-6 levels, were increased in CETP-Tg and PLTP-Tg mice.

Conclusions

Elevated CETP and PLTP aggravate psoriasis in a imiquimod-induced mouse model.

Construction of a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network revealed the potential mechanism of Buyang Huanwu Decoction in the treatment of cerebral ischemia

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BHD) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that is effective for treating cerebral ischemia (CI). However, the molecular mechanisms of BHD in CI have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we integrated the circular RNA (circRNA)-microRNA (miRNA)-messenger RNA (mRNA) network of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MACO) rats treated with BHD.

METHODS

SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, model group, model+BHD group (2.5, 5, 10 g/kg) and model+butylphthalide (NBP) group (54 mg/kg). The neurological functions of the rats were evaluated by a modified neurological severity scoring (mNSS) system. Pathological lesions were assessed by Nissl staining, and the effects of BHD on neurovascular unit (NVU) associated protein microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and von Willebrand factor (VWF) were assessed by immunohistochemistry. CeRNA and miRNA microarrays were used to establish the circRNA, miRNA, and mRNA profiles. Finally, a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA ternary transcription network was constructed.

RESULTS

BHD improved the neurobehavioral test scores (P < 0.01) and the histopathological changes in ischemic brain tissue in MCAO rats. The expression of MAP2 and VWF decreased and the expression of GFAP increased in the ischemic side brain tissue of MCAO rats (P < 0.01), and treatment with BHD reversed the above changes (P < 0.01 or 0.05). We identified seven, three, and 86 significantly dysregulated circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs, respectively, that were associated with the neuroprotective effects of BHD. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis showed that these targets may exert therapeutic effects through multiple pathways, such as the VEGF and Hippo signaling pathways. Finally, we constructed a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network.

CONCLUSIONS

In brief, our study provides novel insights into ceRNA-mediated gene regulation in the progression of NVU after CI and the mechanism of action for BHD.

Leucosceptoside A from Devil's Claw Modulates Psoriasis-like Inflammation via Suppression of the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway in Keratinocytes

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition characterized by abnormal keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation that is accompanied with dysregulated immune response and abnormal vascularization. Devil’s claw (Harpagophytum procumbens (Burch.) DC. ex Meisn.) tubers extract has been used both systemically and topically for treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis, inflammatory bowel disease, among others. However, its potential mechanisms of action against psoriasis remains poorly investigated. The human keratinocyte HaCaT cell line is a well-accepted in vitro model system for inflammatory skin disorders such as psoriasis. The present study involved an exploration of the effect of biotechnologically produced H. procumbens (HP) cell suspension extract and pure phenylethanoid glycosides verbascoside (VER) and leucosceptoside A (LEU) in interferon (IFN)-γ/interleukin (IL)-17A/IL-22-stimulated HaCaT cells as a model of psoriasis-like inflammation. Changes in key inflammatory signaling pathways related to psoriasis development were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Treatment with LEU, but not VER and HP extract improved psoriasis-related inflammation via suppression of the PI3K/AKT signaling in IFN-γ/IL-17A/IL-22-stimulated HaCaT cells. Our results suggest that LEU may exhibit therapeutic potential against psoriasis by regulating keratinocyte differentiation through inhibition of the PI3K/AKT pathway.