ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo investigate the pharmacological effect and metabolic mechanism of Linderae Radix on the intrauterine adhesion （IUA） rat model. MethodAn IUA rat model was induced by mechanical injury and infection. Molecular biology and pharmacology techniques were employed to evaluate the inhibitory effect of Linderae Radix extract （LAE） on fibrosis in IUA. Serum metabolomics analysis based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS） was conducted to explore the metabolic regulation mechanism of LAE. ResultAnimal experiments showed that LAE significantly improved the morphology and structural damage of uterine tissue cells in the IUA rat model， promoted endometrial proliferation， vascular regeneration， and morphological recovery， inhibited the mRNA expression of transforming growth factor-β1 （TGF-β1）， Smad2， and Smad3， and increased the expression of Smad7 mRNA to suppress fibrosis. Additionally， LAE significantly suppressed the levels of estrogen （E2）， follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， luteinizing hormone （LH）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） expression （P<0.01）， thereby improving the uterine microenvironment. Metabolomics analysis revealed significant metabolic abnormalities in the serum of IUA rats compared with the results in the normal group， and nine differential metabolites were identified. LAE effectively ameliorated these metabolic abnormalities， primarily by influencing six differential metabolites， including five shared metabolites among the nine identified markers： L-aspartic acid， L-pyroglutamic acid， L-serine， glucose， and L-norvaline. Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that the aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis pathway was the main affecting mechanism. ConclusionIn combination with the pharmacological research results， LAE effectively improved uterine damage and inhibited fibrosis in the IUA rat model. Its mechanism may involve the inhibition of the aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis pathway and the improvement of the microenvironment.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveMetabolic syndrome is the inherent phenotype of many diseases， which seriously endangers the cardio-cerebrovascular system. Prunellae Spica can regulate lipid metabolism disorder in high-fat mice and inhibit the metabolic disorder of liver injury. This study analyzed the effect of Prunellae Spica on metabolic syndrome and its mechanism， and it is of great significance to find potential safe drugs from natural products. MethodIn this study， the metabolic syndrome model was induced by fructose. The metabolomics method based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS） was used to explore the effect and mechanism of Prunellae Spica on rats with metabolic syndrome. ResultPharmacological results showed that Prunellae Spica significantly reduced the body weight， blood lipid level and lipid peroxidation level and inhibited the release of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in rats with metabolic syndrome. Thus， Prunellae Spica protected the liver and maintained its normal functions. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that metabolites in the serum of rats with metabolic syndrome changed significantly， which was improved after Prunellae Spica treatment. Compared with the metabolites in normal group， 11 differential metabolic markers were found in rats with metabolic syndrome. Compared with model group， Prunellae Spica group had 8 significantly different metabolic markers， among which phosphate， pyruvic acid and succinic acid were common markers. Pathway analysis indicated that the regulatory effect of Prunellae Spica was mainly related to citrate cycle， glycolysis and gluconeogenesis， serine/threonine and glycine metabolic pathways. ConclusionPrunellae Spica can be used as a potential natural source for the treatment of metabolic syndrome. It can regulate the metabolic disorder in metabolic syndrome via energy and amino acid metabolism.