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Wang W, Liu D, Yang L, Chen L, Miao M, Liu Y, Yin Y, Wei M, Liu G, An Y, Zheng M. Compound Kushen injection attenuates angiotensin II‑mediated heart failure by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt pathway. Int J Mol Med 2023; 51:23. [PMID: 36734284 PMCID: PMC9943540 DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2023.5226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Compound Kushen injection (CKI) is a type of traditional Chinese medicine that has previously been studied for the treatment of various types of cancer. Previous studies have reported that CKI regulates cell apoptosis by downregulating the PI3K/Akt pathway. The present study aimed to determine whether CKI alleviates heart failure (HF) by attenuating cardiomyocyte apoptosis via the inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway. Angiotensin II (Ang II) was used to elicit HF, and osmotic minipumps with either Ang II (2 µg/kg/day) or phosphate‑buffered saline (PBS; 200 µl) were subcutaneously implanted into 6‑week‑old male C57BL/6 mice for 3 weeks. In addition, PBS or CKI (25 mg/kg/day) were subcutaneously infused once a day for 3 weeks. Echocardiography was used to examine hemodynamics. The myocardial injury biomarkers, cardiac troponin I and N‑terminal (NT)‑pro hormone B‑type natriuretic peptide, were assessed using enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay. Transmission electron microscopy was used to determine the morphology of the myocardium. The rate of apoptosis was detected using TUNEL staining and flow cytometry (FCM), and the expression levels of apoptosis‑related proteins were measured using western blot (WB) analysis. Moreover, H9C2 cells were treated with CKI (2 mg/ml) or LY294002 (an inhibitor of the PI3K/Akt pathway; 25 µmol/l) in combination with Ang II (1 µmol/l) for 48 h. Cell Counting Kit‑8 assay, FCM and WB analysis were performed in the H9C2 cells to examine cell viability, cell cycle distribution and representative signaling proteins. It was found that CKI promoted healthy cardiac function, reduced myocardial structural damage and reduced the rate of cardiomyocyte apoptosis. CKI markedly attenuated the expression of apoptosis‑related proteins in the PI3K/Akt pathway. The results of the in vitro experiments indicated that CKI promoted cardiomyocyte proliferation and inhibited apoptosis, similar to LY294002. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that CKI reduces cardiomyocyte apoptosis, promotes healthy cardiac function and attenuates Ang II‑mediated HF. These ameliorative effects may be associated with the inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China
| | - Da Liu
- Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China
| | - Liyun Yang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050017, P.R. China
| | - Lixia Chen
- Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China
| | - Mengdan Miao
- Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China
| | - Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China
| | - Yajuan Yin
- Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China
| | - Mei Wei
- Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China
| | - Gang Liu
- Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China
| | - Yonghui An
- Department of Oncology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China,Professor Yonghui An, Department of Oncology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, 89 Donggang Road, Yuhua, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China, E-mail:
| | - Mingqi Zheng
- Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China,Hebei Key Laboratory of Heart and Metabolism, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China,Correspondence to: Professor Mingqi Zheng, Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, 89 Donggang Road, Yuhua, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031, P.R. China, E-mail:
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Ta-Xi-San Suppresses Atopic Dermatitis Involved in Multitarget Mechanism Using Experimental and Network Pharmacology Analysis. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2022; 2022:8441938. [PMID: 35646146 PMCID: PMC9132654 DOI: 10.1155/2022/8441938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a relapsing and chronic skin inflammation with a common incidence worldwide. Ta-Xi-San (TXS) is a Chinese herbal formula usually used for atopic dermatitis in clinic; however, its active compounds and mechanisms of action are still unclear. Our study was designed to reveal the pharmacological activities, the active compounds, and the pharmacological mechanisms of TXS for atopic dermatitis. Mice were induced by 2,4-dinitrocluorobenzene (DNCB) to build atopic dermatitis model. The pathological evaluation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) assay were performed. The UPLC-Q-Exactive-MSE and network pharmacology analysis were performed to explore active ingredients and therapeutic mechanisms of TXS. TXS treatment decreased levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in serum induced by DNCB. TXS reduced scratching behavior and alleviated inflammatory pathology of skin and ear. Meanwhile, TXS decreased the spleen index and increased spleen index. The UPLC-Q-Exactive-MSE results showed that 65 compounds of TXS were detected and 337 targets were fished. We collected 1371 AD disease targets, and the compound-target gene network reveled that the top 3 active ingredients were (−)-epigallocatechin gallate, apigenin, and esculetin, and the core target genes were PTGS2, PTGS1, and HSP90AA1. The KEGG pathway and GO analysis showed that TXS remedied atopic dermatitis via PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, and Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway with the regulation of inflammatory response and transcription. Further, we found that the targets of PTGS2 and HSP90AA1 were both elevated in ears and skin of AD model mouse; however, TXS decreased the elevated expressions of PTGS2 and HSP90AA1. Our study revealed that TXS ameliorated AD based on (−)-epigallocatechin gallate, apigenin, and esculetin via targeting PTGS2 and HSP90AA1.
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