Investigation of the antidepressant mechanism of combined Radix Bupleuri and Radix Paeoniae Alba treatment using proteomics analysis of liver tissue.

Depression is a chronic, common mental illness characterized by depressed mood, anxiety, insomnia, cognitive impairment, and even suicidal tendency. In traditional Chinese medicine theory, the cause of depression is deemed to be "stagnation of liver qi". So relieving "stagnation of liver qi" is effective for depression. The combination of Radix Bupleuri and Radix Paeoniae Alba, which is used to soothe the liver and relieve depression, has antidepressant effects, but the mechanisms of the effects are still unclear. In this study, a rat model of chronic unpredictable mild stress was established as a model of depression, and proteomics analysis was used to explore the potential mechanisms of this combination in alleviating depression. Biological information analysis was performed on the selected differential proteins, and the enriched pathways mainly included the Jak-STAT signaling pathway, valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation, and oxidative phosphorylation. The expression of key proteins included metallothionein-1, cyclin-dependent kinase, ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase-1, and Cryab was further verified by western blotting, and the results which were consistent with the proteomics results, confirmed the reliability of the proteomic analysis. The antidepressant mechanism of combined Radix Bupleuri and Radix Paeoniae Alba treatment may be related to the oxidative stress response, neuroplasticity, the immune response, and neuroprotection.