ABSTRACT
ObjectiveBased on network pharmacology and transcriptomics， the mechanism of Zishen Qinggan prescription （ZSQGF） in improving glucose and lipid metabolism in type 2 diabetes （T2DM） model rats was explored. MethodBased on network pharmacology analysis of the differential genes between ZSQGF and T2DM， gene ontology（GO）analysis and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes（KEGG） analysis were conducted， and molecular docking analysis was used to verify the binding between components and targets. A T2DM rat model was established by high-fat feeding and injection of streptozotocin （STZ）. The rats were randomly divided into the control group， model group， metformin （Met， 72 mg·kg-1） group， and ZSQGF high-， medium-， and low-dose groups （ZSQGF-H， ZSQGF-M， and ZSQGF-L， with 4.8， 2.4， and 1.2 g·kg-1 raw drug in the solution）. The living status of rats was monitored and the levels of total cholesterol （TC）， total triglycerides （TG）， high density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， and alanine aminotransferase （ALT） in rat serum were detected. The liver tissues were subjected to Hematoxylin eosin（HE） staining and oil red O staining. The differential genes were analyzed through transcriptomics， GO and KEGG analysis， and the protein-protein interaction（PPI） network was obtained to screen key targets. With network pharmacology and transcriptomics analysis results， the protein pathways were identified. The expression levels of nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， matrix metalloproteinase（MMP）-1 and MMP-9 proteins in liver tissues were detected by Western blot. The mRNA expression of B-cell lymphoma-2（Bcl-2） modifying factor（BMF）， nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate （NADPH） oxidase 4 （NOX4）， and fatty acid synthase（FASN） was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）. The expression of MMP-1 and MMP-9 in the liver was detected by immunofluorescence staining. ResultTranscriptomics and network pharmacology analysis suggested that ZSQGF may protect the liver through the glucose and lipid metabolism pathway and the inflammation pathway. Experiments showed that after 8 weeks of administration， the body weight， blood sugar， serum indicators， and pathological staining results of rats were improved. Western blot results indicated a decrease in the relative expression levels of NF-κB， MMP-1 and MMP-9 proteins in the liver. Real-time PCR results showed a decrease in the transcriptional expression of BMF， NOX4， and FASN in the ZSQGF-H group， while immunofluorescence staining results present decreased expression of MMP-1 and MMP-9 in the ZSQGF groups. ConclusionZSQGF can improve the glucose and lipid metabolism by inhibiting the expression of FASN， reducing lipid synthesis， and regulating the NF-κB signaling pathway.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of moxibustion at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) for uterine contraction pain in labor, and evaluate the safety of the parturient and newborn.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and seventy-four cases of singleton pregnancy and cephalic presentation primipara were single blinded and randomly divided into three groups: observation group (59 cases), placebo treated group (57 cases) and blank group (58 cases). The observation group was treated with moxibustion at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) for 30 min when the uterus cervix openning at 3 cm, the placebo treated group was treated with moxibustion at no acupoint for 30 min and the blank group was treated with routine labor nursing, the uterine contraction pain and the safety of the mother and infant were compared among three groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>1) The uterine contraction pain was tested by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS): the scores of VAS in the observation group were obviously decreased after 15 min and 30 min of moxibustion (both P<0.05), there were no obvious changes of the VAS scores in placebo treated group and the blank group, the scores of VAS in observation group decreased much more obviously than those in the other two groups (all P<0.05); 2) Midwife rating of the uterine contraction pain: after 30 min of moxibustion, the effective rate of labor analgesia was 69.5% (41/59) in observation group, which was higher than that of 45.6% (26/57) in placebo treated group and 43.1% (25/58) in blank group, with significant differences between them (both P<0.05); 3) The postpartum hemorrhage amount of the observation group was obviously lower than those of placebo treated group and blank group (both P<0.05); 4) The Apgar score of newborn was higher in observation group and placebo treated group than that of blank group (both P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Moxibustion at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) can relieve the uterine contraction pain, and has no side effect to mother and infant, it is one of the safe, effective and simple non-drug analgesia methods.</p>