Metabolomics and lipidomics combined with serum pharmacochemistry uncover the potential mechanism of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction alleviates atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Atherosclerosis (AS) is one of the main cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) leading to an increase in global mortality, and its key pathological features are lipid accumulation and oxidative stress. Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction (HLJDD), a representative formula for clearing heat and detoxifying, has been shown to reduce aortic lipid plaque and improve AS. However, multiple components and multiple targets of HLJDD pose a challenge in comprehending its comprehensive mechanism in the treatment of AS.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study was designed to illustrate the anti-AS mechanisms of HLJDD in an apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mouse model from a metabolic perspective.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

ApoE-/- mice were kept on a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce AS. Serum total cholesterol (TC), total triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were determined to evaluate the influence of HLJDD on dyslipidemia. Oil red O was used to stain mouse aortic lipid plaques, and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to assess the pathological changes in the aortic roots. Metabolomics and lipidomics combined with serum pharmacochemistry were performed to research the HLJDD mechanism of alleviating AS.

RESULTS

In this study, HLJDD treatment improved serum biochemical levels and histopathological conditions in AS mice. A total of 6 metabolic pathways (arginine biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid, sphingolipid, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, and glycerolipid metabolism) related to 25 metabolic biomarkers and 41 lipid biomarkers were clarified, and 22 prototype components migrating to blood were identified after oral administration of HLJDD.

CONCLUSION

HLJDD improved AS induced by HFD in ApoE-/- mice. The effects of HLJDD were mainly attributed to regulating lipid metabolism by regulating the metabolic pathways of glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, and glycerolipids and reducing the levels of oxidative stress by upregulating arginine biosynthesis.

Combination of UHPLC-Q Exactive-Orbitrap MS, Bioinformatics and Molecular Docking to Reveal the Mechanism of Huan-Lian-Jie-Du Decoction in the Treatment of Diabetic Encephalopathy

Diabetic encephalopathy (DE) is a serious complication of diabetes, which affects patients' quality of life. We aimed to explore HLJDD in the treatment of DE by LC/MS and bioinformatics. UPLC-Q Exactive-Orbitrap MS was employed to clarify the compounds. The modules and hub targets of DE were gained from WGCNA. Subsequently, an Herb-Compound-Target network was constructed and enrichment analysis was used. In addition, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed and molecular docking was used to verify the above analysis. As result, 138 compounds and 10 prototypes in brain were identified. In network pharmacology, 8 modules and 5692 hub targets were obtained from WGCNA. An Herb-Compound-Target network was constructed by 4 herbs, 10 compounds and 56 targets. The enrichment analysis showed that the treatment of DE with HLJDD involve oxidative stress and neuroprotection. Beside, SRC, JUN, STAT3, MAPK1 and PIK3R1 were identified and as hub targets of HLJDD in treating DE. Moreover, Molecular docking showed that five hub targets had strong affinity with the corresponding alkaloids. Therefore, we explored the underlying mechanisms of HLJDD in the treatment of DE and to provide the theoretical and scientific basis for subsequent experimental studies and clinical applications.

Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction alleviates depressive-like behaviors in dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis mice via Trem2/Dap12 pathway

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction (HLJD), a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, has been implicated as effective in treating colitis, depression and inflammation-related diseases. Whether HLJD decoction could ameliorate colitis-induced depression was still unknown and the underlying mechanism was needed to be clarified.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Our study aimed to explore the effect and the underlying mechanism of HLJD treatment on colitis-induced depression and the involvement of the inflammatory factors and microglial-activated related genes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The chronic colitis model was established by treating male mice with 1% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 8 weeks. One week after DSS-treated, HLJD decoction was administered orally with 2 and 4 g/kg daily for 7 weeks. Behavior tests (Open field/Elevated plus maze/Novel object recognition) and TUNEL staining were then assessed. The expression of inflammatory-related genes and microglial dysregulation were measured by RT-PCR and the expression of Trem2, Danp12 and Iba1 were assessed by immunofluorescence methods.

RESULTS

Depressive-like behaviors were observed in mice treated with DSS, which suffered colitis. Compared to normal control (NC-V) mice, the density of TUNEL + cells in the habenula (Hb), hippocampus (HIP), and cortex were significantly higher in colitis (DSS-V) mice, especially in Hb. Compared to NC-V and several brain regions, the expression levels of the Il-1β, Il-10 and Dap12 mRNA were significantly increased in the lateral habenula (LHb) of colitis mice. Moreover, the expression of Trem2, Dap12 and Iba1 were increased in LHb of DSS-V mice. HLJD treatment could alleviate depressive-like behaviors, reduce the density of TUNEL + cells in Hb and the expression of Il-6, Il-10 and Dap12 mRNA in LHb of DSS-V mice. The overexpression of Trem2, Dap12 and Iba1 in LHb of DSS-V mice were reversed after HLJD treatment.

CONCLUSION

These results reveal LHb is an important brain region during the process of colitis-induced depression. HLJD treatment could alleviates depressive-like behaviors in colitis mice via inhibiting the Trem2/Dap12 pathway in microglia of LHb, which would contribute to the precise treatment. It provides a potential mechanistic explanation for the effectiveness of HLJD treatment in colitis patients with depression.

Huang-Lian-Jie-Du Decoction Attenuates Atherosclerosis and Increases Plaque Stability in High-Fat Diet-Induced ApoE-/- Mice by Inhibiting M1 Macrophage Polarization and Promoting M2 Macrophage Polarization

Macrophage polarization plays a vital impact in triggering atherosclerosis (AS) progression and regression. Huang-Lian-Jie-Du Decoction (HLJDD), a famous traditional Chinese decoction, displays notable anti-inflammatory and lipid-lowering effects in different animal models. However, its effects and mechanisms on AS have not been clearly defined. We determined whether HLJDD attenuated atherosclerosis and plaques vulnerability by regulating macrophage polarization in ApoE^−/− mice induced by high-fat diet (HFD). Furthermore, we investigated the effects of HLJDD on macrophage polarization in oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) induced RAW264.7 cells. For in vivo assay, compared with the model group, HLJDD ameliorated lipid metabolism, with significantly decreased levels of serum triglyceride, total cholesterol (CHOL), and lipid density lipoprotein. HLJDD suppressed serum tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and IL-1β levels with increased serum IL-10 level, and inhibited mRNA level of NLRP3 inflammasome in carotid tissues. HLJDD enhanced carotid lesion stability by decreasing macrophage infiltration together with increased expression of collagen fibers and α-SMA. Moreover, HLJDD inhibited M1 macrophage polarization, which decreased the expression and mRNA levels of M1 markers [inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and CD86]. HLJDD enhanced alternatively activated macrophage (M2) activation, which increased the expression and mRNA levels of M2 markers (Arg-1 and CD163). For in vitro assay, HLJDD inhibited foam cell formation in RAW264.7 macrophages disturbed by ox-LDL. Besides, groups with ox-LDL plus HLJDD drug had a lower expression of CD86 and mRNA levels of iNOS, CD86, and IL-1β, but higher expression of CD163 and mRNA levels of Arg-1, CD163, and IL-10 than ox-LDL group. Collectively, our results revealed that HLJDD alleviated atherosclerosis and promoted plaque stability by suppressing M1 polarization and enhancing M2 polarization.

Intermodule Coupling Analysis of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du Decoction on Stroke

Huang-Lian-Jie-Du Decoction (HLJDD) is a "Fangji" made up of well-designed Chinese herb array and widely used to treat ischemic stroke. Here we aimed to investigate pharmacological mechanism by introducing an inter-module analysis to identify an overarching view of target profile and action mode of HLJDD. Stroke-related genes were obtained from OMIM (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man). And the potential target proteins of HLJDD were identified according to TCMsp (Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform). The two sets of molecules related to stroke and HLJDD were respectively imported into STRING database to construct the stroke network and HLJDD network, which were dissected into modules through MCODE, respectively. We analyzed the inter-module connectivity by quantify "coupling score" (CS) between HLJDD-modules (H-modules) and stroke-modules (S-module) to explore the pharmacological acting pattern of HLJDD on stroke. A total of 267 stroke-related proteins and 15 S-modules, 335 HLJDD putative targeting proteins, and 13 H-modules were identified, respectively. HLJDD directly targeted 28 proteins in stroke network, majority (16, 57.14%) of which were in S-modules 1 and 4. According to the modular map based on inter-module CS analysis, H-modules 1, 2, and 8 densely connected with S-modules 1, 3, and 4 to constitute a module-to-module bridgeness, and the enriched pathways of this bridgeness with top significance were TNF signaling pathway, HIF signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Furthermore, through this bridgeness, H-modules 2 and 4 cooperatively work together to regulate mitochondrial apoptosis against the ischemia injury. Finally, the core protein in H-module 4 account for mitochondrial apoptosis was validated by an in vivo experiment. This study has developed an integrative approach by inter-modular analysis for elucidating the "shotgun-like" pharmacological mechanism of HLJDD for stroke.

Comparative study of single/combination use of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction and berberine on their protection on sepsis induced acute liver injury by NMR metabolic profiling

Sepsis is a serious clinical disease with a high mortality rate all around the world. Liver organ dysfunction is an important sign for the severity and outcome of sepsis in patients. In this study, ¹H NMR-based metabolomics approach and biochemical assays were applied to investigate the metabolic profiling for cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) induced acute liver injury, the therapeutical effect of single/combination use of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction (HLJDD) and berberine, and the interaction of them. Metabolomics analysis revealed significant perturbations in livers of septic rats, which could be ameliorated by HLJDD, berberine and their combination treatment. Berberine could better rectified glycolysis and nucleic acid metabolism in the liver. HLJDD had exceptional better anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidative effects than berberine. The interaction of berberine and HLJDD could further strengthen the anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation, but with poor effect on amino acids metabolism. These findings highlighted the feasibility of the integrated NMR based metabolomics approach to understand the pathogenesis of diseases, the action mechanisms of therapy and the herb-drug interaction.