Traditional Chinese Medicine Aconiti Radix Cocta Improves Rheumatoid Arthritis via Suppressing COX-1 and COX-2

Compounds identification and mechanism prediction of YuXueBi capsule in the treatment of arthritis by integrating UPLC/IM-QTOF-MS and network pharmacology

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that seriously affects the life quality of patients. As a patent medicine of Chinese traditional medicine, YuXueBi capsule (YXBC) is widely used for treating RA with significant effects. However, its active compounds and therapeutic mechanisms are not fully illuminated, encumbering the satisfactory clinical application. In this study, we developed a method for identifying the chemical compounds of YXBC and the absorbed compounds into blood of rats using ultra performance liquid chromatography/ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/IM-QTOF-MS) combined with UNIFI analysis software. A total of 58 compounds in YXBC were unambiguously or tentatively identified, 16 compounds from which were found in serum of rats after administration of YXBC. By network pharmacology, these prototype compounds identified in serum were predicted to regulate 30 main pathways (including HIF-1 signaling pathway, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, IL-17 signaling pathway, and so on) through 146 targets, resulting in promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, analgesia, and anti-inflammatory activities. This study provides a scientific basis for the clinical efficacy of YXBC in the treatment of RA.

Bioinformatics identifies key genes and potential drugs for energy metabolism disorders in heart failure with dilated cardiomyopathy

Background: Dysfunction in myocardial energy metabolism plays a vital role in the pathological process of Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM). However, the precise mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the key molecular mechanisms of energy metabolism and potential therapeutic agents in the progression of dilated cardiomyopathy with heart failure. Methods: Gene expression profiles and clinical data for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy complicated by heart failure, as well as healthy controls, were sourced from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Gene sets associated with energy metabolism were downloaded from the Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB) for subsequent analysis. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) and differential expression analysis were employed to identify key modules and genes related to heart failure. Potential biological mechanisms were investigated through Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and the construction of a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. Molecular docking simulations were then conducted to explore the binding affinity and conformation of potential therapeutic drugs with hub genes. Results: Analysis of the left ventricular tissue expression profiles revealed that, compared to healthy controls, patients with dilated cardiomyopathy exhibited 234 differentially expressed genes and 2 genes related to myocardial energy metabolism. Additionally, Benzoylaconine may serve as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy. Conclusion: The study findings highlight the crucial role of myocardial energy metabolism in the progression of Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Notably, Benzoylaconine emerges as a potential candidate for treating Dilated Cardiomyopathy, potentially exerting its therapeutic effects by targeted modulation of myocardial energy metabolism through NRK and NT5.

Liquiritin targeting Th17 cells differentiation and abnormal proliferation of keratinocytes alleviates psoriasis via NF-κB and AP-1 pathway

Psoriasis is a common immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease, caused by disturbed interactions between keratinocytes and immune cells. Chinese medicine shows potential clinical application for its treatment. Liquiritin is a flavone compound extracted from licorice and shows potential antitussive, antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects, and therefore may have potential as a psoriasis therapeutic. The aim of this work was to examine the possible roles that liquiritin may have in treating psoriasis. HaCaT cells were stimulated by TNF-α with or without liquiritin, harvested for analysis by western blots and RT-qPCR, and the cellular supernatants were collected and analyzed by ELISA for cytokines. In addition, 4 groups of mice were examined: Normal, Vehicle, LQ-L and LQ-H. The mice were sacrificed after 6 days and analyzed using IHC, ELISA, RT-qPCR and flow cytometry. The results showed that liquiritin could significantly inhibit the progression of psoriasis both in vitro and in vivo. Liquiritin strongly suppressed the proliferation of HaCaT keratinocytes but did not affect cell viability. Moreover, liquiritin alleviated imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation and accumulation of Th17 cells and DCs in vivo. In TNF-α-induced HaCaT keratinocytes, both protein and mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cytokines were sharply decreased. In imiquimod-induced mice, the activation of NF-κB and AP-1 was reduced after treatment with liquiritin. Collectively, our results show that liquiritin might act as a pivotal regulator of psoriasis via modulating NF-κB and AP-1 signal pathways.

An Apriori Algorithm-Based Association Analysis of Analgesic Drugs in Chinese Medicine Prescriptions Recorded From Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain

Chronic pain, a common symptom of people with rheumatoid arthritis, usually behaves as persistent polyarthralgia pain and causes serious damage to patients' physical and mental health. Opioid analgesics can lead to a series of side effects like drug tolerance and addiction. Thus, seeking an alternative therapy and screening out the corresponding analgesic drugs is the key to solving the current dilemma. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapy has been recognized internationally for its unique guiding theory and definite curative effect. In this study, we used the Apriori Algorithm to screen out potential analgesics from 311 cases that were treated with compounded medication prescription and collected from “Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University” in Hangzhou, China. Data on 18 kinds of clinical symptoms and 16 kinds of Chinese herbs were extracted based on this data mining. We also found 17 association rules and screened out four potential analgesic drugs—“Jinyinhua,” “Wugong,” “Yiyiren,” and “Qingfengteng,” which were promised to help in the clinical treatment. Besides, combined with System Cluster Analysis, we provided several different herbal combinations for clinical references.