Xinglou Chengqi Decoction improves neurological function in experimental stroke mice as evidenced by gut microbiota analysis and network pharmacology / 中国天然药物

The current study was designed to explore the brain protection mechanism of Xinglou Chengqi Decoction (XCD) based on gut microbiota analysis and network pharmacology. A transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of mice was established, followed by behavioral evaluation, TTC and TUNEL staining. Additionally, to investigate the effects of gut microbiota on neurological function after stroke, C57BL/6 mice were treated with anti-biotic cocktails 14 days prior to ischemic stroke (IS) to deplete the gut microbiota. High-throughput 16S rDNA gene sequencing, metabonomics technique, and flow multifactor technology were used to analyze bacterial communities, SCFAs and inflammatory cytokines respectively. Finally, as a supplement, network pharmacology and molecular docking were applied to fully explore the multicomponent-multitarget-multichannel mechanism of XCD in treating IS, implicated in ADME screening, target identification, network analysis, functional annotation, and pathway enrichment analysis. We found that XCD effectively improved neurological function, relieved cerebral infarction and decreased the neuronal apoptosis. Moreover, XCD promoted the release of anti-inflammatory factor like IL-10, while down-regulating pro-inflammatory factors such as TNF-α, IL-17A, and IL-22. Furthermore, XCD significantly increased the levels of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), especially butyric acid. The mechanism might be related to the regulation of SCFAs-producing bacteria like Verrucomicrobia and Akkermansia, and bacteria that regulate inflammation like Paraprevotella, Roseburia, Streptophyta and Enterococcu. Finally, in the network pharmacological analysis, 51 active compounds in XCD and 44 intersection targets of IS and XCD were selected. As a validation, components in XCD docked well with key targets. It was obviously that biological processes were mainly involved in the regulation of apoptotic process, inflammatory response, response to fatty acid, and regulation of establishment of endothelial barrier in GO enrichment. XCD can improve neurological function in experimental stroke mice, partly due to the regulation of gut microbiota. Besises, XCD has the characteristic of "multi-component, multi-target and multi-channel" in the treatment of IS revealed by network pharmacology and molecular docking.

Protective effects and mechanism of puerarin on learning-memory disorder after global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of puerarin on the learning-memory disorder after global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats, and to explore its mechanism of action.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model was established using the modifified Pulsinelli four-vessel occlusion in Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were intraperitoneally injected with puerarin (100 mg/kg) 1 h before ischemia and once every 6 h afterwards. The learning-memory ability was evaluated by the passive avoidance test. The dynamic changes of the cell counts of apoptosis and positive expression of Bcl-2 in the hippocampus CA1 region were determined by the TUNEL and immunohistochemical methods, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) Compared with the reperfusion group, the step through latency (STL) in the passive avoidance test in the puerarin group was prolonged signifificantly (P<0.01). (2) The apoptotic neurons were injured most severely on the 3rd day in the hippocampal CA1 region after global ischemia and reperfusion. In the puerarin group, the number of apoptotic cells decreased at respective time points after ischemia-reperfusion (P<0.01). (3) The level of positive expression of Bcl-2 varied according to the duration of reperfusion and the peak level occurred on day 1 in the hippocampal CA1 region after global cerebral ischemia. Compared with the reperfusion group, the expression of Bcl-2 in the puerarin group was up-regulated at the respective time points after ischemia reperfusion (P<0.01), reaching the peak on day 1.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Puerarin could improve the learning-memory ability after global cerebral ischemia and reperfusion in rats. The protective mechanism might be related to the effect of inhibiting or delaying the cell apoptosis through up-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 after ischemia and reperfusion.</p>