作者: Liu, Xin ; Liu, Qingquan ; Song, Jin ; Ye, Haoran ; Hu, Yahui ; He, Yidong ; Luo, Lianxiang ; Wang, Qian ; Guo, Yuhong ; Zhao, Chunxia ; He, Shasha

Sepsis remains the leading cause of mortality among Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients, with its pathogenesis and treatment not yet fully elucidated. Ferroptosis plays a critical role in sepsis, suggesting that ferroptosis-related genes may serve as potential therapeutic targets. This study aims to identify key ferroptosis-related genes in sepsis and explore targeted therapeutics. Through differential expression analysis of the GSE13940 and GSE26440 datasets, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) was identified as a hub gene associated with ferroptosis. Additionally, single-cell analysis of the GSE175453 dataset revealed a significant upregulation of HO-1 expression in monocyte lineages during sepsis. The cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) method was employed to induce sepsis in a mouse model, lung and intestinal tissues exhibited typical ferroptosis characteristics, with a significant increase in HO-1 expression. However, treatment with the HO-1 inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin (ZNPP) significantly ameliorated ferroptosis in CLP-induced lung and intestinal tissues, as well as in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced THP-1 cells. Subsequently, molecular docking, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and microscale thermophoresis (MST) experiments demonstrated that ginsenoside Rb1 specifically targets HO-1, identifying K18A as the key binding residue. Finally, experiments conducted both in vitro and in vivo verified that ginsenoside Rb1 significantly reduces HO-1 expression, inhibits ferroptosis in sepsis-induced lung, and intestinal tissues and THP-1 cells, and improves sepsis-induced pulmonary and intestinal damage. In conclusion, this study identifies HO-1 as a key ferroptosis target in sepsis and suggests ginsenoside Rb1 as a potential novel HO-1 inhibitor for the therapeutic approach of sepsis-induced organ dysfunction.

2025-01-01·Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis

Screening and verification of target and molecular docking study of Pien-Tze-Huang in ameliorating alcoholic liver injury in rats

Article

作者: Huang, Liying ; Huang, Lingyi ; Wu, Youjia ; Lin, Shouer ; Wu, Pingping

Pien-Tze-Huang (PTH) is a famous traditional Chinese patent medicine with excellent liver-protection effects. However, the mechanism of hepatoprotective action has not yet been entirely elucidated. This study aimed to elucidate the protective mechanism of PTH against alcoholic liver injury in rats from key targets. An alcoholic liver disease (ALD) model in male rats was established, and the rats were treated with PTH given at a prescribed dosage. The hepatoprotective components of PTH and their exposure in the serum of PTH-treated rats were systematically identified. Quantitative proteomics was employed to find differentially expressed proteins. The key targets were screened by bioinformatic analysis and further validated by Western blotting (WB) and molecular docking. Ursodeoxycholic acid, notoginsenoside R1, gypenoside XVII, ginsenoside Rb1, and ginsenoside Re may be important active hepatoprotective components of PTH. A total of 53 differentially expressed proteins that were reversed by PTH were successfully identified in rat liver tissues. Retinol metabolism and the PPAR signaling pathway may play a key role in ameliorating alcohol-induced liver injury after PTH intervention. In particular, protein CYP2, FATCD36, FATP, ACS, and CPT-2 in these two pathways may be key targets for the therapeutic effects of PTH, with the same reversal observed by WB. Molecular docking analysis further revealed that these five proteins exhibited generally stable binding with the five main components of PTH. The hepatoprotective effects of PTH may be exerted through the modulation of key targets within pivotal pathways. This work pioneered a comprehensive screening of the active compounds in PTH and elucidated the mechanisms and targets of their protective effects against alcoholic liver injury, providing a reference for the broader clinical application of PTH.

2024-12-01·Phytomedicine

A stepwise integrated strategy to explore quality markers of Qishen Yiqi dripping pills against myocardial ischemia

Article

作者: Tang, Meng ; Zhou, Pei-Pei ; Xue, Lian-Ping ; Liu, Li-Wei ; Jia, Qing-Quan ; Sun, Zhi ; Zuo, Li-Hua ; Zhang, Zhi-Bo ; Zhao, Ling-Guo

BACKGROUNDNumerous experiments and clinical practices have demonstrated the effectiveness of Qishen Yiqi dripping pills (QSYQ) on myocardial ischemia (MI). However, the bioactive ingredients and mechanisms remain unclear, leading to huge gaps between quality control and biological effect of QSYQ. Discovering quality markers (Q-markers) based on effective components is crucial for ensuring stable quality and clinical effectiveness of QSYQ.PURPOSETo explore Q-markers of QSYQ against MI by a stepwise strategy integrating serum pharmacochemistry, network pharmacology, metabolomics, quantitative analysis, and cell experiments.METHODSFirstly, liquid/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was applied to characterize chemical profiles of QSYQ in vitro and in vivo. Based on the serum migrating constituents, a component-target-MI interaction network was constructed. Subsequently, pharmacodynamics and metabolomics were conducted to evaluate cardioprotective effect and potential mechanism of QSYQ. Next, conjoint analysis of network pharmacology and metabolomics was performed to screen candidate Q-markers. Finally, the measurability and bioactivity were validated to justify their usage as Q-markers.RESULTSA total of 97 components were identified in QSYQ, 24 prototypes of which were detected in serum. The "component-target-disease" interaction network was constructed based on serum migrating constituents. Pharmacodynamic results showed that QSYQ effectively improved cardiac function, attenuated inflammatory cell infiltration, alleviated myocardial fibrosis, and reduced the levels of myocardial enzymes and oxidative stress in MI rats. Metabolomics study demonstrated that 59 metabolites were markedly altered in MI rats, 25 of which were significantly reversely regulated by QSYQ. After integrative analysis of network pharmacology and metabolomics, 12 components were selected as candidate Q-markers of QSYQ, and the contents were quantified. These candidate Q-markers displayed synergistic protective effects against H₂O₂-induced injury in H9c2 cells. Taken together, 12 components with properties of transitivity and traceability, effectiveness, measurability, and compatibility contribution were defined as representative Q-markers of QSYQ, including Astragaloside IV, Ononin, Calycosin, Formononetin, Rosmarinic acid, Cryptotanshinone, Salvianolic acid A, Tanshinol, Ginsenoside Rb1, Ginsenoside Rg1, Nerolidol, and Santalol.CONCLUSIONIn this study, a novel stepwise integrated strategy was presented for discovering Q-markers related to therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. Twelve comprehensive and representative Q-markers of QSYQ were identified for the first time to improve its quality control.

100 项与 Ginsenoside Rg1 相关的药物交易

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