Liu Shen Capsule Alters Airway Microbiota Composition and Metabolite Profiles in Healthy Humans

Characterization of the upper respiratory tract microbiota in Chilean asthmatic children reveals compositional, functional, and structural differences

Around 155 million people worldwide suffer from asthma. In Chile, the prevalence of this disease in children is around 15% and has a high impact in the health system. Studies suggest that asthma is caused by multiple factors, including host genetics, antibiotic use, and the development of the airway microbiota. Here, we used 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing to characterize the nasal and oral mucosae of 63 asthmatic and 89 healthy children (152 samples) from Santiago, Chile. We found that the nasal mucosa was dominated by a high abundance of Moraxella, Dolosigranulum, Haemophilus, Corynebacterium, Streptococcus, and Staphylococcus. In turn, the oral mucosa was characterized by a high abundance of Streptococcus, Haemophilus, Gemella, Veillonella, Neisseria, and Porphyromonas. Our results showed significantly (P < 0.001) lower alpha diversity and an over-abundance of Streptococcus (P < 0.01) in nasal samples from asthmatics compared to samples from healthy subjects. Community structure, as revealed by co-occurrence networks, showed different microbial interactions in asthmatic and healthy subjects, particularly in the nasal microbiota. The networks revealed keystone genera in each body site, including Prevotella, Leptotrichia, and Porphyromonas in the nasal microbiota, and Streptococcus, Granulicatella, and Veillonella in the oral microbiota. We also detected 51 functional pathways differentially abundant on the nasal mucosa of asthmatic subjects, although only 13 pathways were overrepresented in the asthmatic subjects (P < 0.05). We did not find any significant differences in microbial taxonomic (composition and structure) and functional diversity between the oral mucosa of asthmatic and healthy subjects. This study explores for the first time the relationships between the upper respiratory airways bacteriome and asthma in Chile. It demonstrates that the nasal cavity of children from Santiago harbors unique bacterial communities and identifies potential taxonomic and functional biomarkers of pediatric asthma.

Mass spectrometry-based metabolomics for discovering active ingredients and exploring action mechanism of herbal medicine

Natural products derived from herbal medicine are a fruitful source of lead compounds because of their structural diversity and potent bioactivities. However, despite the success of active compounds derived from herbal medicine in drug discovery, some approaches cannot effectively elucidate the overall effect and action mechanism due to their multi-component complexity. Fortunately, mass spectrometry-based metabolomics has been recognized as an effective strategy for revealing the effect and discovering active components, detailed molecular mechanisms, and multiple targets of natural products. Rapid identification of lead compounds and isolation of active components from natural products would facilitate new drug development. In this context, mass spectrometry-based metabolomics has established an integrated pharmacology framework for the discovery of bioactivity-correlated constituents, target identification, and the action mechanism of herbal medicine and natural products. High-throughput functional metabolomics techniques could be used to identify natural product structure, biological activity, efficacy mechanisms, and their mode of action on biological processes, assisting bioactive lead discovery, quality control, and accelerating discovery of novel drugs. These techniques are increasingly being developed in the era of big data and use scientific language to clarify the detailed action mechanism of herbal medicine. In this paper, the analytical characteristics and application fields of several commonly used mass spectrometers are introduced, and the application of mass spectrometry in the metabolomics of traditional Chinese medicines in recent years and its active components as well as mechanism of action are also discussed.

Targeted modulation of gut microbiota by traditional Chinese medicine and natural products for liver disease therapy

The gut microbiota not only constitutes intestinal microenvironment homeostasis and human health but also exerts indispensable roles in the occurrence and progression of multiple liver diseases, including alcohol-related liver disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune liver disease and liver cancer. Given the therapeutic status of these diseases, their prevention and early therapy are crucial, and the detailed mechanism of gut microbiota in liver disease urgently needs to be explored. Meanwhile, multiple studies have shown that various traditional Chinese medicines, such as Si Miao Formula, Jiangzhi Granules, Liushen Capsules, Chaihu-Shugan Power, Cassiae Semen and Gynostemma, as well as some natural products, including Costunolide, Coprinus comatus polysaccharide, Antarctic krill oil, Oridonin and Berberine, can repair liver injury, improve fatty liver, regulate liver immunity, and even inhibit liver cancer through multiple targets, links, and pathways. Intriguingly, the aforementioned effects demonstrated by these traditional Chinese medicines and natural products have been shown to be closely related to the gut microbiota, directly driving the strategy of traditional Chinese medicines and natural products to regulate the gut microbiota as one of the breakthroughs in the treatment of liver diseases. Based on this, this review comprehensively summarizes and discusses the characteristics, functions and potential mechanisms of these medicines targeting gut microbiota during liver disease treatment. Research on the potential effects on gut microbiota and the regulatory mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine and natural products provides novel insights and significant references for developing liver disease treatment strategies. In parallel, such explorations will enhance the comprehension of traditional Chinese medicine and natural products modulating gut microbiota during disease treatment, thus facilitating their clinical investigation and application.

Investigating the effects of Liushen Capsules on the metabolome of seasonal influenza: A randomized clinical trial

Background: Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) are effective strategies for preventing influenza infection. Liushen Capsules can inhibit influenza virus proliferation, significantly mitigate virus-induced inflammation and improve acute lung injury in vitro or in vivo. However, the efficacy and safety of LS in clinical trials, and the role of LS in regulating metabolites in patients are not well known. Materials and methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was designed in this study. All participants were enrolled between December 2019 and November 2020. The efficacy and safety were assessed by primary efficacy endpoint ((area under the curve (AUC) analysis)) and secondary endpoint (individual scores for each symptom, remission of symptoms, and rates of inflammatory factors). The serum samples were collected from patients to detect the levels of inflammatory factors using RT-PCR and to identify metabolites using a non-targeted metabolomics ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Results: 81 participants from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were completed the full study. After 14 days of intervention, the area under the curve (AUC) of the total symptom scores in LS group was significantly smaller than that in Placebo group (p < 0.001). Alleviation of sore throat, cough and nasal congestion in the LS group was significantly better than that in the Placebo group. The time and number to alleviation of symptoms or complete alleviation of symptoms in LS group was significantly better than that in Placebo group. The adverse effects of clinical therapy were slightly higher in LS group than in Placebo group, but there was no statistical difference. After 14 days of LS intervention, the levels of IL-1ra, Eotaxin, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13, SCF and TRAIL in serum of participants with influenza infection were significantly decreased compared with Placebo group. It was observed that there were significant differences in the serum metabolic profiles between start- and end- LS groups. Further correlation analysis showed a potential regulatory crosstalk between glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids fatty acyls and excessive inflammation and clinical symptoms. Importantly, it may be closely related to phospholipid, fatty acid, arachidonic acid and amyl-tRNA synthesis pathway metabolic pathways. Conclusion: The study showed there were no clinically significant adverse effects on LS, and a significant improvement in influenza-like symptomatology and inflammatory response in patients treated with LS. Further analysis showed that LS could significantly correct the metabolic disorders in the serum metabolite profile of the patients. This provided new insights into the potential mechanism of LS for the treatment of influenza.

Cangma Huadu granules attenuate H1N1 virus-induced severe lung injury correlated with repressed apoptosis and altered gut microbiome

Severe influenza A virus infection leads to overwhelming inflammatory responses and cellular apoptosis, which causes lung injury and contributes to high mortality and morbidity. The gut microbiome altered in response to the infection might influence the disease progression and the treatment outcome. Cangma Huadu (CMHD) granules, an in-hospital preparation of traditional Chinese medicine, have been shown to be favorable in the clinical treatment of influenza. However, the effects and mechanisms of CMHD granules on severe influenza pneumonia and its mechanisms are not well-known. In this study, a lethal influenza A (H1N1) A/Puerto Rico/8/34 virus (PR8)-infected mice model was established, and the 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) V3–V4 region sequencing of the intestinal microbiome was conducted. We revealed that the oral administration of CMHD granules protects mice against higher mortality, enhanced weight loss, overwhelmed interferon-γ concentration, lung viral titers, and severe lung pathological injury in PR8-infected mice. CMHD granules’ administration downregulated the levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and malondialdehyde, while it upregulated the levels of IL-10, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase. Subsequently, it decreased the protein ratio of B-cell lymphoma-2/Bcl-2-associated X and the expression of cleaved caspase-3. The diversity and compositions of the gut microbes were altered profoundly after the administration of CMHD granules in PR8-infected mice. A higher abundance of Bifidobacterium, Parasutterella, Bacteroides, and Faecalibaculum was observed in the CMHD group, and a higher abundance of Lactobacillus and Turicibacter was observed in the positive drug Ribavirin group. The linear discriminant analysis effect size also revealed a higher proportion of Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium_pseudolongum characterized in the CMHD group. These results demonstrated that CMHD granules are a promising strategy for managing severe influenza and attenuating severe lung damage via reducing viral titer, inflammatory responses, and oxidative stress. The mechanisms are involved in repressed Bcl-2-regulated apoptosis and altered composition and diversity of the gut microbiome.