Chongyang Ma1, Mengpei Zhao2, Yuqiong Du1, Shuang Jin3, Xiaoyi Wu1, Haiyan Zou1, Qiuyun Zhang1, Lianyin Gao1. 1. School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 10069, China. 2. Kaifeng Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kaifeng 475000, China. 3. Yanqing County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102100, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Qingdu Decoction (QDD) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula for treating chronic liver injury (CLI). Materials and methods. A network pharmacology combining experimental validation was used to investigate potential mechanisms of QDD against CLI. We firstly screened the bioactive compounds with pharmacology analysis platform of the Chinese medicine system (TCMSP) and gathered the targets of QDD and CLI. Then, we constructed a compound-target network and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and enriched core targets in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathways. At last, we used a CLI rat model to confirm the effect and mechanism of QDD against CLI. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blot (WB), and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used. RESULTS: 48 bioactive compounds of QDD passed the virtual screening criteria, and 53 overlapping targets were identified as core targets of QDD against CLI. A compound-CLI related target network containing 94 nodes and 263 edges was constructed. KEGG enrichment of core targets contained some pathways related to CLI, such as hepatitis B, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, apoptosis, hepatitis C, interleukin-17 (IL-17) signaling pathway, and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 signaling pathway. Three PPI clusters were identified and enriched in hepatitis B and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, apoptosis and hepatitis B pathway, and peroxisome pathway, respectively. Animal experiment indicated that QDD decreased serum concentrations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), endotoxin (ET), and IL-17 and increased prothrombin time activity (PTA) level. WB and RT-qPCR analyses indicated that, compared with the model group, the expression of cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-9 (caspase-9) protein, caspase-3 protein, B-cell lymphoma-2 associated X protein (Bax) mRNA, and cytochrome c (Cyt c) mRNA was inhibited and the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) mRNA was enhanced in the QDD group. CONCLUSIONS: QDD has protective effect against CLI, which may be related to the regulation of hepatocyte apoptosis. This study provides novel insights into exploring potential biological basis and mechanisms of clinically effective formula systematically.
BACKGROUND: Qingdu Decoction (QDD) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula for treating chronic liver injury (CLI). Materials and methods. A network pharmacology combining experimental validation was used to investigate potential mechanisms of QDD against CLI. We firstly screened the bioactive compounds with pharmacology analysis platform of the Chinese medicine system (TCMSP) and gathered the targets of QDD and CLI. Then, we constructed a compound-target network and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and enriched core targets in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathways. At last, we used a CLI rat model to confirm the effect and mechanism of QDD against CLI. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blot (WB), and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used. RESULTS: 48 bioactive compounds of QDD passed the virtual screening criteria, and 53 overlapping targets were identified as core targets of QDD against CLI. A compound-CLI related target network containing 94 nodes and 263 edges was constructed. KEGG enrichment of core targets contained some pathways related to CLI, such as hepatitis B, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, apoptosis, hepatitis C, interleukin-17 (IL-17) signaling pathway, and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 signaling pathway. Three PPI clusters were identified and enriched in hepatitis B and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, apoptosis and hepatitis B pathway, and peroxisome pathway, respectively. Animal experiment indicated that QDD decreased serum concentrations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), endotoxin (ET), and IL-17 and increased prothrombin time activity (PTA) level. WB and RT-qPCR analyses indicated that, compared with the model group, the expression of cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-9 (caspase-9) protein, caspase-3 protein, B-cell lymphoma-2 associated X protein (Bax) mRNA, and cytochrome c (Cyt c) mRNA was inhibited and the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) mRNA was enhanced in the QDD group. CONCLUSIONS: QDD has protective effect against CLI, which may be related to the regulation of hepatocyte apoptosis. This study provides novel insights into exploring potential biological basis and mechanisms of clinically effective formula systematically.
Authors: F J Cubero; A Singh; E Borkham-Kamphorst; Y A Nevzorova; M Al Masaoudi; U Haas; M V Boekschoten; N Gassler; R Weiskirchen; M Muller; C Liedtke; C Trautwein Journal: Cell Death Differ Date: 2013-08-09 Impact factor: 15.828