ABSTRACT
Single cell "omics" technology enables the capture of genome, transcriptome, proteome and other omics information in a high-throughput and unbiased manner at single-cell resolution, allowing the characterization of the functional state of individual cells to reveal their heterogeneity and differential responses to drug treatment. This technology has wide application in pharmacological research, facilitating drug screening, efficacy evaluation, and mechanistic studies. We envision that, in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), single cell omics technology can be applied in the identification of active ingredients and drug targets, and elucidation of drug mechanism of action. In this article, we briefly introduce the single cell omics technology - particularly single cell transcriptome sequencing, and review its application in the field of modern drug research. Based on that, we propose the concept of "single cell pharmacology" and articulate how it can be applied to transform the pharmacological research of TCM and promote TCM modernization.
ABSTRACT
Wu-tou decoction (WTD) was originally recorded in the synopsis of the golden chamber and it had been widely used for the treatment of neuropathic pain (NP) with exact therapeutic efficacy. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms still remain unclarified. Thus, in this research, we aimed at clarifying the underlying molecular mechanisms of WTD against NP by combining network analysis and experimental validation based on the spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model. Firstly, the network analysis indicated that key targets of WTD were significantly involved in the MAPK signaling pathway (P = 4.04E-12) and four important components of the above pathway, AKT kinase (AKT), MAP kinase kinase 4 (MKK4), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and transcription factor AP-1 (JUN) had been reported to play a vital role in neuroinflammation during the disease process of NP. Then, experimental validation results proved that WTD markedly reduce the severity of mechanical allodynia (P<0.01) and cold hypersensitivity (P<0.05) of SNL rats. In addition, Western blot results provided evidence that the phosphorylated protein expression levels of AKT, MKK4, JNK and JUN in the superficial lamina of spinal cord of SNL rats were markedly increased (P<0.001), and WTD could improve the phosphorylated protein expression level of AKT (P<0.001) which was reported to be nerve protective and attenuate the phosphorylated protein expression levels of MKK4, JNK and JUN (P<0.01) which were closely involved into neuroinflammation. In conclusion, this study indicated that WTD might exert anti-hyperalgesia action through the inhibition of neuroinflammation mediated by AKT-MKK4-JNK-JUN which belong to the MAPK signaling pathway. These findings also provided scientific evidences that WTD might be a promising candidate for NP. Animal experiments in this study were approved by the Ethics Committee of Experimental Animals of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.
ABSTRACT
Growing clinical evidence shows that a partial rheumatoid arthritis( RA) patient treated with Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets( TGT) may fail to achieve clinical improvement. It is of great clinical significance to predict the therapeutic effect of TGT in RA. Therefore,the aim of the current study was to identify potential biomarkers for TGT treatment in RA. Affymetrix EG1.0 arrays were applied to detect gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from 6 RA patients( 3 responders and 3 non-responders) treated with TGT. By integrating differential expression data analysis and biomolecular network analysis,360 mRNAs( 185 up-regulated and 175 down-regulated) and 24 miRNAs( 7 up-regulated and 17 down-regulated) which were differentially expressed between TGT responder and non-responder groups were identified. A total of 206 candidate target genes for the differentially expressed miRNAs were obtained based on miRanada and Target Scan databases,and then the miRNA target gene coexpression network and miRNA-mediated gene signal transduction network were constructed. Following the network analyses,three candidate miRNAs biomarkers( hsa-miR-4720-5 p,hsa-miR-374 b-5 p,hsa-miR-185-3 p) were identified as candidate biomarkers predicting individual response to TGT. Partialleast-squares( PLS) was applied to construct a model for predicting response to TGT based on the expression levels of the candidate gene biomarkers in RA patients. The five-fold cross-validation showed that the prediction accuracy( ACC) of this PLS-based model efficacy was 100.00%,100.00%,100.00%,66.67% and 66.67% respectively,and all the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve( AUC) were 1.00,indicating the highly predictive efficiency of this PLS-based model. In conclusion,the integrating transcription data mining and biomolecular network investigation show that hsa-mir-4720-5 p,hsa-mir-374 b-5 p and hsa-mir-185-3 p may be candidate biomarkers predicting individual response to TGT. In addition,the PLS model based on the expression levels of these candidate biomarkers may be helpful for the clinical screen of RA patients,which potentially benefit individualized therapy of RA in a daily clinical setting.
Subject(s)
Humans , Arthritis, Rheumatoid , Drug Therapy , Biomarkers , Data Mining , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Therapeutic Uses , Glycosides , Therapeutic Uses , Leukocytes, Mononuclear , MicroRNAs , Genetics , Tablets , Tripterygium , ChemistryABSTRACT
Salvia Plebeia is the full grass of Salvia Plebeia R.Br.,which contains chemical constituents belonging to flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic acids, volatile oils, sterols and other ingredients. The pharmacological effects include relieving cough and asthma, anti-inflammatory, analgesia antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antibacterial and other activities. It is commonly used to treat herpes zosters, hemorrhoids, children with acute nephritis, bronchitis and so on in clinic. This article summarized the research on chemical constituents, pharmacological effects and clinical application in recent years, in order to provide references for further research and development of Salvia Plebeia.
ABSTRACT
Wu-tou decoction (WTD) and Baihu-Guizhi decoction (BHGZD) as described in the Synopsis of the Golden Chamber have been used extensively for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with apparent therapeutic efficacy. However, characteristics of pharmacological effects and their underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated due to a lack of appropriate scientific methodology. In the current study, we performed an integrative approach applying gene expression profiling and network analysis to examine the therapeutic effects and molecular mechanisms of WTD and BHGZD based on adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) animal model. Results demonstrated that both WTD and BHGZD could relieve the severity of arthritis in AIA rats, while the significant differences were observed in the changes of the withdrawal response scores and latency time of AIA rats treated with WTD and BHGZD. Mechanistically, our network pharmacology-based investigation demonstrated that the major candidate targets of WTD and BHGZD were significantly associated with several inflammation-immune regulatory pathways, such as Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine signaling pathway, B cell receptor signaling pathway, antigen processing and presentation, Fc epsilon RI signaling pathway, natural killer cell mediated cytotoxicity, as well as leukocyte transendothelial migration. In particular, the major candidate targets of WTD were also involved in the regulation of hormone and energy metabolism, which might be imbalanced during RA progression. In conclusion, the current study revealed differences and similarities regarding the effects and network regulatory mechanisms of WTD and BHGZD. These findings may present a scientific basis for elucidation of mechanisms by which WTD and BHGZD alleviates RA.