ABSTRACT
Pyroptosis，which is different from cell necrosis， apoptosis and autophagy，is a new type of programmed cell death. It is characterized by the swelling of cells until the cell membrane rupture， resulting in the release of cell contents and the activation of a strong inflammatory response. Pyroptosis signaling pathway is divided into the classical pathway dependent on Caspase-1 and the non-classical pathway dependent on Caspase-4， 5 and 11. In classical pathway， activation Caspase-1 depends on inflammasome， whereas in non-classical pathway， Caspase-4， 5， and 11 are activated directly. All of these result in the cleavage of gasdermin D（GSDMD） protein， the formation of membrane pores， the maturation and release of interleukin-1β（IL-1β） and IL-18， and the rupture of the cell membrane， and then leads to pyroptosis. Ulcerative colitis （UC） is a common disease of the digestive system. The UC course is long， easy to relapse， and difficult to cure. The pathogenesis of UC is not completely clear. In recent years， it has been found that pyroptosis plays an important role in the development of UC. Traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） has a long history of preventing and treating UC， with significant clinical effects. It is found that the mechanism of TCM in the prevention and treatment of UC is closely correlated with inflammasome， IL-1β and IL-18. The mechanism of TCM in preventing and treating UC is correlated with cell pyroptosis. Therefore， this paper reviews the relationship between cell pyroptosis and UC and the regulatory effect of TCM.
ABSTRACT
Data GSE75214 and GSE48959 that contained ulcerative colitis(UC) in the active stage was download from GEO database. Differential genes of UC in the active phase were obtained by using adjusted P<0.05 and |log_2 FC|≥1.5, which was the screening criteria. PPI analysis was performed in the STRING database, and GO and KEGG pathway analysis was performed in DAVID database. Cytoscape was used to visualize differential genes, and calculate key genes in the active phase. Coremine Medical was used to analyze and systematically evaluate traditional Chinese medicines for treating key genes. Finally, 139 differentially expressed genes in the active phase were screened out, which included the 109 up-regulated genes and 30 down-regulated genes. DAVID analyzed that the biology and pathways of these differential genes were mainly concentrated in inflammatory response, immune response, chemokine activity, TNF pathway, NF-κB pathway, and Toll-like receptor pathway. Cytoscape software calculated that IL-6, CXCL8, IL-1β, MMP9, CXCL1, ICAM1, CXCL10, TIMP1, PTGS2 and CXCL9 were the key genes of UC in the active phase. According to Coremine Medical analysis, traditional Chinese medicines for UC in the active stage included Curcumae Longae Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, Curcumae Radix had clearing heat clearing damp, reducing fire and detoxifying effects, which was in line with the pathogenesis of UC active stage, and was often used in clinical treatment of dampness-heat diarrhea. Therefore, Huangqin Decoction, which Scutellariae Radix was the principal drug, was selected for systematic evaluation. The evaluation showed that Scutellariae Radix was superior to Western medicine in terms of improving clinical efficiency, reducing inflammatory factors and immunoglobulin levels, with statistically significant differences and fewer adverse reactions. This study provided a new idea for further research on the pathogenesis of UC in the active phase by analyzing the genes and their mechanism of action, and the systematic evaluation of Chinese medicine for the treatment of UC active stage provided a basis for the clinical prevention and treatment of UC by Chinese medicine.