ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the active components， targets， and signaling pathways responsible for Bushen Zhuyun prescription in treating the recurrent spontaneous abortion （RSA） based on network pharmacology and uncover its potential mechanism by molecular docking and in vitro cell experiments. Method:The active components of Bushen Zhuyun prescription were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）， Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database （TCMID） and the published articles， followed by the prediction of drug action targets based on such platforms as DrugBank and SwissTargetPrediction. GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM） were searched to obtain the RSA targets， which were then intersected with the targets of Bushen Zhuyun Decoction. Following the plotting of Bushen Zhuyun prescription-compound-target-RSA network by Cytoscape 3.7.1， the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was then constructed with STRING for screening the core network. The resulting common targets were then subjected to Gene Ontology （GO） and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） enrichment analysis using R software. Autodock Vina 1.1.2 was used for molecular docking. The activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/AKT） signaling pathway by Bushen Zhuyun prescription was verified in human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVEC） <italic>in vitro</italic>. Result:It was found that 49 potential active components of Bushen Zhuyun prescription might act on 133 RSA targets. GO enrichment analysis yielded 470 biological processes， with angiogenesis， vascular development， cellular proliferation， and oxidative activity mainly involved. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed 103 signaling pathways （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway， advanced glycation end product （AGE）/receptor for advanced glycation end product （RAGE） signaling pathway， and tumor necrosis factor （TNF） signaling pathway were the main ones. As indicated by molecular docking， the Vina scores of the main active component kaempferol with AKT1 and vascular endothelial growth factor A （VEGFA） were the lowest and similar. It was confirmed <italic>in vitro</italic> cell experiments that Bushen Zhuyun prescription activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and up-regulated the expression of VEGFA and downstream AKT protein to promote angiogenesis. Conclusion:Bushen Zhuyun prescription promotes angiogenesis at the maternal-fetal interface by regulating angiogenesis and cellular proliferation， activating the PI3K/AKT pathway， and up-regulated the VEGFA expression， which is beneficial to the formation of placenta in early pregnancy and the maintenance of early pregnancy. This study has provided ideas for new drug development.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of sunitinib on the migration of ovarian cells and its mechanism of the negative regulation TGF-β mediated of epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT) by sunitinib to inhibit ovarian cancer metastasis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The migration of human ovarian cancer cells SKOV3 was evaluated by wound-healing and transwell assays. The effects of sunitinib on TGF-β-induced E-cadherin expression was assessed by Western-blotting, real time RT-PCR and immunofluorescence assay. The protein levels of Snail and the transcriptional activity of Smad in sunitinib-treated cells were examined by Western-blotting and SBE-luciferase assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Sunitinib suppressed the migration of SKOV3 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. TGF-β stimulation reduced E-cadherin protein level, which was attenuated by sunitinib. Sunitinib inhibited the up-regulation of Snail protein level induced by TGF-β treatment. The SBE reporter was constructed by linking the Smad-binding elements promoter upstream of luciferase reporter gene. A remarkable increment of transcriptional activity of Smads complexes was observed in SKOV3 cells exposed to TGF-β, which was significantly prohibited by sunitinib.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Sunitinib can inhibit the migration of SKOV3 cells and attenuate the down-regulation of E-cadherin protein level induced by TGF-β. Sunitinib can abolish TGF-β-induced up-regulation of Snail protein and decrease the transcriptional activity of Smad complexes. The results indicate that sunitinib suppresses migration of ovarian cancer cells through negative modulation of TGF-β-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition.</p>