Detecting Key Functional Components Group and Speculating the Potential Mechanism of Xiao-Xu-Ming Decoction in Treating Stroke

The neuroprotective effect of Chinese herbal medicine for cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury through regulating mitophagy

The incidence of ischemic stroke has been increasing annually with an unfavorable prognosis. Cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury can exacerbate nerve damage. Effective mitochondrial quality control including mitochondrial fission, fusion and autophagy, is crucial for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Several studies have revealed the critical role of mitophagy in Cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury. Cerebral ischemia and hypoxia induce mitophagy, and mitophagy exhibits positive and negative effects in cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury. Studies have shown that Chinese herbal medicine can alleviate Cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury and serve as a neuroprotective agent by inhibiting or promoting mitophagy-mediated pathways. This review focuses on the mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy-related pathways, as well as the role of mitophagy in ischemia reperfusion injury. Additionally, it discusses the therapeutic potential and benefits of Chinese herbal monomers and decoctions in the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Identifying the natural products in the treatment of atherosclerosis by increasing HDL-C level based on bioinformatics analysis, molecular docking, and in vitro experiment

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have demonstrated that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) plays an anti-atherosclerosis role through reverse cholesterol transport. Several studies have validated the efficacy and safety of natural products in treating atherosclerosis (AS). However, the study of raising HDL-C levels through natural products to treat AS still needs to be explored.

METHODS

The gene sets associated with AS were collected and identified by differential gene analysis and database query. By constructing a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, the core submodules in the network are screened out. At the same time, by calculating node importance (Nim) in the PPI network of AS disease and combining it with Kyoto Encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways enrichment analysis, the key target proteins of AS were obtained. Molecular docking is used to screen out small natural drug molecules with potential therapeutic effects. By constructing an in vitro foam cell model, the effects of small molecules on lipid metabolism and key target expression of foam cells were investigated.

RESULTS

By differential gene analysis, 451 differential genes were obtained, and a total of 313 disease genes were obtained from 6 kind of databases, then 758 AS-related genes were obtained. The enrichment analysis of the KEGG pathway showed that the enhancement of HDL-C level against AS was related to Lipid and atherosclerosis, Cholesterol metabolism, Fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, PPAR signaling pathway, and other pathways. Then we intersected 31 genes in the core module of the PPI network, the top 30 genes in Nims, and 32 genes in the cholesterol metabolism pathway, and finally found 3 genes. After the above analysis and literature collection, we focused on the following three related gene targets: APOA1, LIPC, and CETP. Molecular docking showed that Genistein has a good binding affinity for APOA1, CETP, and LIPC. In vitro, experiments showed that Genistein can up-regulated APOA1, LIPC, and CETP levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on our research, Genistein may have the effects of regulating HDL-C and anti-atherosclerosis. Its mechanism of action may be related to the regulation of LIPC, CETP, and APOA1 to improve lipid metabolism.

A New Therapeutic Trend: Natural Medicine for Ameliorating Ischemic Stroke via PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway

Ischemic stroke (IS) is an acute cerebrovascular disease caused by sudden arterial occlusion, which is characterized by a high morbidity, mortality, and disability rate. It is one of the most important causes of nervous system morbidity and mortality in the world. In recent years, the search for new medicine for the treatment of IS has become an attractive research focus. Due to the extremely limited time window of traditional medicine treatment, some side effects may occur, and accompanied by the occurrence of adverse reactions, the frequency of exploration with natural medicine is significantly increased. Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/Protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signaling pathway is a classical pathway for cell metabolism, growth, apoptosis, and other physiological activities. There is considerable research on medicine that treats various diseases through this pathway. This review focuses on how natural medicines (including herbs and insects) regulate important pathophysiological processes such as inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and autophagy through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and the role it plays in improving IS. We found that many kinds of herbal medicine and insect medicine can alleviate the damage caused by IS through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Moreover, the prescription after their combination can also achieve certain results. Therefore, this review provides a new candidate category for medicine development in the treatment of IS.

Alpiniae oxyphyllae fructus possesses neuroprotective effects on H2O2 stimulated PC12 cells via regulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling Pathway

Backgroud: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a typical neurodegenerative disease, which occurs in the elderly population. Alpiniae oxyphyllae Fructus (AOF) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has potential therapeutic effect on AD, but the mechanism behind it is unclear. Methods: Firstly, the main chemical components of AOF were identified by LC-MS, while the main active ingredients and targets were screened by TCMSP database. At the same time, AD-related target proteins were obtained using Genecards and OMIM databases. PPI was constructed by cross-linking AOF and AD targets, and GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed to identify the relevant biological processes and signaling pathways. Finally, based on the H2O2-stimulated PC12 cell, flow cytometry, WB and immunofluorescence experiments were performed to verify the protective effect of AOF on AD. Results: We identified 38 active ingredients with 662 non-repetitive targets in AOF, of which 49 were potential therapeutic AD targets of AOF. According to the GO and KEGG analysis, these potential targets are mainly related to oxidative stress and apoptosis. The role of AOF in the treatment of AD is mainly related to the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Protocatechuic acid and nootkatone might be the main active ingredients of AOF. In subsequent experiments, the results of CCK-8 showed that AOF mitigated PC12 cell damage induced by H2O2. Kits, flow cytometry, and laser confocal microscopy indicated that AOF could decrease ROS and increase the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), while AOF could also increase mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), thereby inhibiting apoptosis. Finally, immunofluorescence and WB results showed that AOF inhibited the expression of BAX and caspase-3 in PC12 cells, and promoted the expression of Bcl-2. At the same time, the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt proteins were also significantly increased. Conclusion: This study suggests that AOF had the potential to treat AD by suppressing apoptosis induced by oxidative stress via the PI3K/Akt pathway.