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Li FH, Guo SW, Zhan TW, Mo HR, Chen X, Wang H, Wei LL, Feng PF, Wu JG, Li P. Integrating network pharmacology and experimental evidence to decipher the cardioprotective mechanism of Yiqihuoxue decoction in rats after myocardial infarction. J Ethnopharmacol 2021; 279:114062. [PMID: 33771641 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE "Qi deficiency and blood stasis" syndrome is one of the most common syndromes treated with Traditional Chinese Medicine among ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients in clinic. As a Chinese herbal formula with the function of tonifying Qi and activating blood, Yiqihuoxue Decoction (YQHX) has been frequently proven to be effective in the clinical treatment of IHD. AIM OF THE STUDY The cardioprotective mechanisms of YQHX in treating ischemic heart disease were investigated, with emphasis on the key targets and pathways. MATERIALS AND METHODS In the present study, the potential targets of compounds identified in YQHX were predicted using PharmMapper, Symmap, and STITCH databases, and a "herb-compound-target" network was constructed using Cytoscape. Subsequently, the GO and KEGG functional enrichment analyses were analyzed using the DAVID database. Furthermore, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed using STRING to obtain the key target information. Besides, we used a myocardial ischemia rat model to investigate the cardioprotective effects of YQHX. Transmission electron microscopy and Western blotting were used to observe apoptotic bodies and confirm protein expressions of key candidate targets, respectively. RESULTS Network pharmacology showed that a total of 141 potential targets were obtained from these databases. The functional analysis results revealed that the targets of YQHX were largely associated with apoptosis, and the PI3K-AKT and MAPK pathways might represent key functional pathways. The hub genes of network include ALB, TP53, AKT1, TNF, VEGFA, EGFR, MAPK1, CASP3, JUN, FN1, MMP9, and MAPK8. In vivo, YQHX significantly improved cardiac function and suppressed apoptosis in ischemic rat myocardium. Furthermore, YQHX could significantly upregulate Nrf2 and HO-1 expression, and inhibit JNK phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS Based on network pharmacology and experimental evidence, this study proves that the cardioprotective effects and mechanisms of YQHX depend on multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway. In particular, YQHX exerts anti-apoptotic effects potentially by regulating the Nrf2/HO-1 and JNK-MAPK pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang-He Li
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, PR China; The 3rd Affiliated Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Shu-Wen Guo
- Fangshan Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 102400, PR China.
| | - Tian-Wei Zhan
- Science and Technology College of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, 330000, PR China
| | - Han-Rong Mo
- Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100029, PR China
| | - Xi Chen
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, PR China
| | - Hui Wang
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, PR China
| | - Lu-Lu Wei
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, PR China
| | - Peng-Fei Feng
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, PR China
| | - Jian-Gong Wu
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, 100029, PR China
| | - Ping Li
- The 3rd Affiliated Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China.
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Yang J, Gong Z, Lu YB, Xu CJ, Wei TF, Yang MS, Zhan TW, Yang YH, Lin L, Liu J, Tang C, Zhang WP. FLIM-FRET-Based Structural Characterization of a Class-A GPCR Dimer in the Cell Membrane. J Mol Biol 2020; 432:4596-4611. [PMID: 32553728 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2020.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Class-A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are known to homo-dimerize in the membrane. Yet, methods to characterize the structure of GPCR dimer in the native environment are lacking. Accordingly, the molecular basis and functional relevance of the class-A GPCR dimerization remain unclear. Here, we present the dimeric structural model of GPR17 in the cell membrane. The dimer mainly involves transmembrane helix 5 (TM5) at the interface, with F229 in TM5, a critical residue. An F229A mutation makes GPR17 monomeric regardless of the expression level of the receptor. Monomeric mutants of GPR17 display impaired ERK1/2 activation and cannot be properly internalized upon agonist treatment. Conversely, the F229C mutant is cross-linked as a dimer and behaves like wild-type. Importantly, the GPR17 dimer structure has been modeled using sparse inter-protomer FRET distance restraints obtained from fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. The same approach can be applied to characterizing the interactions of other important membrane proteins in the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju Yang
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance at Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy of Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhou Gong
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance at Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy of Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Yun-Bi Lu
- Department of Pharmacology and Department Of Neurosurgery, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Chan-Juan Xu
- College of Life Science and Technology, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
| | - Tao-Feng Wei
- Department of Pharmacology and Department Of Neurosurgery, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Meng-Shi Yang
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance at Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy of Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Tian-Wei Zhan
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310009, China
| | - Yu-Hong Yang
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance at Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy of Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Li Lin
- College of Life Science and Technology, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
| | - Jianfeng Liu
- College of Life Science and Technology, International Research Center for Sensory Biology and Technology of MOST, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China.
| | - Chun Tang
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance at Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy of Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China; Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430074, China.
| | - Wei-Ping Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Department Of Neurosurgery, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
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Zhan TW, Tian YX, Wang Q, Wu ZX, Zhang WP, Lu YB, Wu M. Cangrelor alleviates pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting GPR17-mediated inflammation in mice. Int Immunopharmacol 2018; 62:261-269. [PMID: 30036769 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2018.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Revised: 05/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive and intractable lung disease. Macrophages play a critical role in the progression of pulmonary fibrosis. Cangrelor, an anti-platelet agent, is also a non-selective Gprotein-coupled receptor 17 (GPR17) antagonist. GPR17 mediates microglial inflammation in the chronic phase of cerebral ischemia and regulates allergic pulmonary inflammation. In this study, we observed the effects of cangrelor on bleomycin (BLM)-induced macrophage cellular inflammation and BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis in C57BL/6J mice. We found that BLM significantly increased GPR17 expression, the mRNA synthesis and release of inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6 and TGF-β1 in murine RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Knockdown of GPR17 attenuated the BLM-induced inflammatory responses. Cangrelor (2.5 μM-10 μM) significantly alleviated BLM-induced inflammatory response in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells in concentration-dependent manner. In BLM-induced fibrotic mouse lungs, GPR17 expression and GPR17-positive macrophages were increased. Cangrelor (2.5 mg/kg-10 mg/kg) alleviated pulmonary fibrosis in dose-dependent manner. Cangrelor not only reduced the number of GPR17-positive macrophages, but also decreased BLM-induced mRNA synthesis and release of inflammatory cytokine. As such, we concluded that cangrelor alleviates BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis by suppressing GPR17-mediated inflammation. Cangrelor could be a potential therapeutic drug for pulmonary fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian-Wei Zhan
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jie-Fang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China
| | - Yu-Xin Tian
- Department of Pharmacology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 866 Yu-Hang-Tang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jie-Fang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China
| | - Zi-Xiang Wu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jie-Fang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China
| | - Wei-Ping Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 866 Yu-Hang-Tang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Yun-Bi Lu
- Department of Pharmacology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 866 Yu-Hang-Tang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Ming Wu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jie-Fang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China.
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