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ObjectiveThe active ingredients， action targets， and signaling pathways of Cuscutae Semen to control premature ovarian failure were initially predicted by network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques， and an animal model of premature ovarian failure was constructed to explore the mechanism of Cuscutae Semen based on lipid and atherosclerosis signaling pathways. MethodThe effective components and corresponding targets of drugs were obtained from Traditional Chinese Medicines Systems Pharmacology Platform （TCMSP）， Swiss Target Prediction， Pharmmapper， and other databases. GeneCards database was used to collect disease-related targets. Venny2.1.0 online tool was used to screen out the intersection targets of drugs and diseases， and STRING database and Cytoscape v3.7.2 software were used to construct the network diagram of "drug-component-target" and protein-protein interaction （PPI）. The gene ontology （GO） and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes （KEGG） enrichment analyses of the intersection targets were performed by running the R language script. The molecular docking technology was utilized to dock drug components with targets and visualize some of the docking results. The mice were randomly divided into a blank group， a model group， a Cuscutae Semen group， and an estradiol valerate group， and the ovarian premature failure model was prepared by chronic stress. The blank group and the model group were gavaged with the same amount of normal saline， and the Cuscutae Semen group was given a Cuscutae Semen decoction of 2.6 g·kg-1·d-1. The estradiol valerate group was given an estradiol valerate solution of 0.13 mg·kg-1·d-1. After four weeks， samples were collected， and hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to observe the histopathological changes in the ovary. Serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， luteinizing hormone （LH）， estradiol （E2）， Muller's tube inhibitor/anti-Muller's tube hormone （AMH）， total cholesterol （TC）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The expression levels of extracellular regulatory protein kinase （ERK）， nuclear transcription factor-κB p65 （NF-κB p65）， nuclear transcription factor-κB suppressor α （IκBα）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， IL-6， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） were measured by Western blot. ResultA total of 171 targets of Cuscutae Semen for the prevention and treatment of premature ovarian failure were screened， mainly including tumor protein p53 （TP53）， protein kinase B1 （Akt1）， sarcoma （SRC）， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）， epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR）， etc. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis predicts that Cuscutae Semen is mainly involved in lipid and atherosclerosis， TNF signaling pathway， and TP53 signaling pathway to control premature ovarian failure. The animal experiments show that compared with the premature ovarian failure model group， the Cuscutae Semen group can significantly upregulate AMH， E2， and HDL-C （P<0.05， P<0.01）， significantly downregulate LH， TC， and LDL-C （P<0.01）， greatly reduce IL-1β， IL-6， and TNF-α protein levels， as well as ERK， NF-κB p65， and their phosphorylation levels （P<0.01）. ConclusionCuscutae Semen can regulate hormone levels and improve ovarian function through a multi-component， multi-target， and multi-pathway approach， and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of lipid and atherosclerosis signaling pathways.
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OBJECTIVE To screen the active ingredient with estrogenic effect from total flavonoids of Cuscutae Semen. METHODS The estrogenic effect of total flavonoids from 10 batches of Cuscutae Semen was evaluated with mouse uterus coefficient and endometrial thickness as evaluation indexes， establish its fingerprint and calibrate the common peak. Common peak and spectrum-effect relationship of the above two indicators were analyzed by bivariate relationship analysis and grey correlation analysis to screen active components with estrogenic effect. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS technology was used to characterize the active components. RESULTS The estrogenic effect of total flavonoids from 10 batches of Cuscutae Semen was good. Twenty-eight and thirty-three common peaks of total flavonoids in Cuscutae Semen were obtained in the positive and negative ion modes respectively. The constituents represented by peaks 7，10，12-16，26 in positive ion mode and peaks 2，5，8，9，12，16，19，22-26 in negative ion mode were highly correlated with the estrogenic effect of total flavonoids from Cuscutae Semen. Further identification showed that the active substances with estrogenic effect from the total flavonoids of Cuscutae Semen were 5，7，3′， 4′-tetramethoxyflavone， 6- O-（trans） p-coumarin-furanfructose-（2→1）-glucopyranoside， rutin， kaempferol-3，7-diglucoside， apigenin-7-O-glucoside， hyperoside， baicalin， quercitin， quercetin， apigenin， kaempferol， isorhamnetin， rhododendron， isoquercetin， kaempferol-3-furan arabinoside， 2，6-octadecanediacetylic acid. CONCLUSIONS A total of 16 chemical components with estrogenic effect are screened from total flavonoids of Cuscutae Semen in the study， which can provide reference for the development of phytoestrogens.
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ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Cuscutae Semen total flavonoids combined with Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside tablets （TWPT） on ovarian germline stem cells of female physiological mice through neurogenic locus notch homolog （Notch） signaling pathway. MethodSixty female Kunming mice （5 weeks old） were randomly divided into normal group， Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside tablets low-， high-dose groups （13.65 mg·kg-1·d-1 and 27.3 mg·kg-1·d-1， 1 and 2 times clinical equivalent dose）， Cuscutae Semen total flavonoids low- and high-dose groups （150 mg·kg-1·d-1 and 300 mg·kg-1·d-1）， and combination group （13.65 mg·kg-1·d-1 TWPT and 150 mg·kg-1·d-1 Cuscutae Semen total flavonoids）， with 10 in each group. After 3 weeks of continuous administration， the uterus/brain and ovarian/brain indexes were calculated， and the pathological changes of ovarian tissue were observed under light microscope. The content of estradiol in serum was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Immunofluorescence assay was performed to observe the expressions of germline stem cell markers in ovarian epithelium， including mouse vasa homologue （Mvh）， octamer-binding transcription factor 4 （Oct4）， tyrosine-protein kinase receptor （c-kit）， Nanog， Notch signaling pathway molecules， neurogenic locus notch homolog protein 1 （Notch1）， hes family BHLH transcription factor 1（Hes1）， and jagged canonical Notch ligand 1 （JAG1）. ResultCompared with the normal group， low and high doses of TWPT had no significant effect on the uterus/brain and ovary/brain indexes and the uterus and ovary morphologies of mice， while only the number of atretic follicles was increased （P<0.01）. The expressions of ovarian germline stem cell markers and Notch signaling pathway molecules had a decreasing trend in TWPT low-dose group， while the expressions of Mvh， c-kit， and Nanog were down-regulated （P<0.05， P<0.01） and the expressions of Notch1 and Hes1 were also reduced （P<0.01） in TWPT high-dose group. However， the above indexes were increased in Cuscutae Semen total flavonoids low-dose group （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the low does of TWPT group， the combination group had a decrease in the increased number of atretic follicles （P<0.01）， an improvement in the down-regulated expressions of Mvh and Nanog （P<0.01）， and an increase in the expressions of Notch1 and Hes1 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionOvarian germline stem cells are the source target of the reproductive toxicity of TWPT. Cuscutae Semen total flavonoids participate in the regulation of the germline stem cell pathways to alleviate the reproductive toxicity caused by TWPT， and its mechanism of action may be related to the Notch signaling pathway.
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OBJECTIVE：To investi gate the potential mechanism of couplet medicine of Cuscutae Semen-Lycii Fructus in the treatment of premature ovarian failure. METHODS ：Main active components and related targets of couplet medicine of Cuscutae Semen-Lycii Fructus in the treatment of premature ovarian failure were obtained from TCMSP ，GeneCards and OMIM database. The intersection genes between them were screened using Venn online tool. Cytoscape 3.7.0 software was adopted to establish the active ingredients-target network and the PPI network. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis on intersection genes were carried out by DAVID database. Finally ，an active component-target-key pathway network was constructed. RESULTS ：Totally 42 active components ，231 and 1 913 targets for active components and disease were obtained from couplet medicine of Cuscutae Semen-Lycii Fructus. The components with high node degree included quercetin ，kaempferol，β-sitosterol，isorhamnetin，glycitein， stigmasterol and sesamin ，etc. There were 149 intersection genes between the active component targets and premature ovarian failure targets. PPI network contained 149 nodes and 2 970 edges，with an average node degree of 39.9 and an average medium of 0.005 4. The results of GO analysis showed that molecule function of the above-mentioned genes mainly involved protein binding ， enzyme binding ，etc. Biological process mainly included that positive regulatio n of transcription from RNA polymerase Ⅱ promoter，positive regulation of transcription DNA-templated ， Cell components mainly included nucleus ，cytoplasm，etc. Signaling pathway mainly involved cancer signaling pathway ， hepatitis B signling pathway ，PI3K/AKT signaling pathway ， MAPK signaling pathway ， etc. The results of active 617693370@qq.com component-target-key pathway network showed that active components of Cuscutae Semen and Lycii Fructus were flavonoids and alcohols ；key target included AKT 1，TP53， VEGFA，IL6，TNF，etc. Signaling pathway mainly involved cancer signaling pathway ，hepatitis B signaling pathway ，PI3K/AKT signaling pathway ，MAPK signaling pathway ，etc. CONCLUSIONS ：Through PI 3K/AKT signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway，the active components of couplet medicine of Cuscutae Semen-Lycii Fructus may act on AKT 1，TP53 and other targets ， and then play a therapeutic role on premature ovarian failure. The Potential active components stigmasterol ，sesamin and potential targets IL 6，TNF were found.
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Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets has good anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities,but its reproductive damage is significant. Previous studies of the research group have found that Cuscutae Semen flavonoids can improve spermatogenic cell damage caused by Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets by regulating spermatogenic cell cycle,apoptosis and related protein expression,but the mechanism of action at the gene level is still unclear. In this study,Illumina high-throughput sequencing platform was applied in transcriptional sequencing of spermatogenic cells of rats after the intervention of Cuscutae Semen flavonoids and Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets. Differentially expressed genes were screened out and the GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes were conducted to explore the mechanism of Cuscutae Semen flavonoids in improving reproductive injury caused by Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets. The results showed that 794 up-regulated genes and 491 down-regulated genes were screened in Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets group compared with the blank group. Compared with Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets,440 up-regulated genes and 784 down-regulated genes were screened in the Cuscutae Semen flavonoids+Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets group. Among them,the gene closely related to reproductive function is DNMT3 L. Analysis of GO function and KEGG signaling pathway enrichment showed that the above differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in cell,cell process,catalytic activity,binding,ovarian steroid synthesis,thyroid hormone and other functions and pathways. The thyroid hormone signaling pathway was the common enrichment pathway of the two control groups. In a word,Cuscutae Semen flavonoids has a good treatment effect on male reproductive damage caused by Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets. The mechanism may be closely related to up-regulation of DNMT3 L genes and intervention of thyroid hormone signaling pathway. At the same time,the discovery of many different genes provides valuable information for study on the mechanism of Cuscutae Semen flavonoids and Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets compatibility decreasing toxicity and increasing efficiency.
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Animals , Female , Male , Rats , Cuscuta , Chemistry , DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases , Genetics , Flavonoids , Pharmacology , Genitalia , Pathology , Glycosides , Toxicity , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing , Seeds , Chemistry , Signal Transduction , Tablets , Thyroid Hormones , Genetics , Transcriptome , Tripterygium , ToxicityABSTRACT
Objective Using authentic raw herbal materials is fundamental to herbal medicine quality. Cuscuta chinensis and C. australis are two important species of Cuscutae Semen recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Due to having tiny bodies of seeds, it is extremely difficult to differentiate them from adulterants and closely related species by morphologic characteristics, leading to serious safety problems. Methods In this study, we developed a fast and efficient method to identify Cuscutae Semen on the market. First, a total of 207 ITS2 sequences representing 45 related species of Cuscutae Semen were collected to construct a standard DNA barcode database, then 33 commercial samples purchased from markets were analyzed by BLAST, and Neighbor-joining tree was used to verify the efficacy of the database. Results The percentage of counterfeits and adulterants in the 33 commercial samples were up to 69.7%, and only 10 commercial products were found to be genuine. The adulterated species included 11 species (Amaranthus hybridus, Brassica carinata, Brassica juncea var. megarrhiza, Chenopodium album, Corispermum heptapotamicum, Cuscuta alata, Cuscuta japonica, Cuscuta monogyna, Foeniculum vulgare, Glycine max, and Medicago sativa). Conclusion DNA barcoding is a fast and efficient method to identify Cuscutae Semen on the market.
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Through the textual research, resource investigation, literature reviews (including Flora of China, municipal Flora, pharmacopoeia of China and municipal drug standards) and identification of commercial drugs on Cuscutae Semen, it was found the species described in the herbal textual was Cuscuta chinensis, with good quality from Shandong and Henan Province. The identification of commodities showed the majority drugs were from C. australis, varied from the ancient herbal textuals .Mordern literature reviews indicate that it was necessary to strengthen the research on Cuscutae Semen from C. australis, C. chinensis and C. japonica because of their differences in resources, macroscopical and microscopical characters, while wrong descriptions in some literatures. It was suggested that the two species (C. australis and C. chinensis) should be separated in pharmacopoeia of China. The study provides scientific basis for the development and utilization of Cuscutae Semen.
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To establish an accurate, rapid and efficient method for authenticating Cuscutae Semen and Raphani Semen by using rapid PCR amplification. The samples of Cuscutae Semen, Raphani Semen and their adulterants were collected. The total DNA of the samples has been extracted, and ITS sequence from Cuscutae Semen, Raphani Semen and their adulterants was amplified by PCR and sequenced directionally. These sequences were aligned by using Clustal W. Specific primers were designed and amplified by two-steps PCR amplification method. The rapid PCR methods for authenticating Cuscutae Semen and Raphani Semen were established by optimizing the denatured and annealing temperature, cycle numbers, and etc. When 100 × SYBR Green I was added in the PCR product, strong green fluorescence was visualized under 365 nm UV lamp whereas adulterants showed no florescence. The results indicated that the rapid PCR method can identify Cuscutae Semen and Raphani Semen rapidly. This study provides the technical support for authentication of Chinese medicinal materials.
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AIM@#To investigate the anti-inflammatory activities of the semen extract of Cuscuta chinensis Lam. (Cuscutae Semen; CS) on the production of inflammatory mediators, nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin 2 (PGE2), and proinflammatory cytokines in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 microglia.@*METHOD@#BV-2 cells were treated with CS extract for 30 min, and then stimulated with LPS or without for 24 h. The levels of NO, PGE2 and proinflammatory cytokines were measured by Griess assay and ELISA. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 mRNA and protein was determined by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and the nuclear expression of nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65 were investigated by Western blot analysis.@*RESULTS@#CS extract significantly decreased the production of NO and PGE2 by suppressing the expression of iNOS and COX-2 in activated microglia. CS extract decreased the production of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 by down-regulating their transcription levels. In addition, CS extract suppressed the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, JNK, and p38 MAPK, and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 in activated microglia.@*CONCLUSION@#These results indicate that CS extract is capable of suppressing the inflammatory response by microglia activation, suggesting that CS extract has potential in the treatment of brain inflammation.
Subject(s)
Animals , Mice , Anti-Inflammatory Agents , Pharmacology , Therapeutic Uses , Cuscuta , Cyclooxygenase 2 , Metabolism , Cytokines , Metabolism , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Pharmacology , Therapeutic Uses , Inflammation , Drug Therapy , Metabolism , Inflammation Mediators , Metabolism , Interleukin-1beta , Metabolism , Lipopolysaccharides , Microglia , Metabolism , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases , Metabolism , NF-kappa B , Metabolism , Nitric Oxide , Metabolism , Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II , Metabolism , Phosphorylation , Phytotherapy , Seeds , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha , MetabolismABSTRACT
Objective: To optimize the preparation technology of Cuscutae Semen herb stir-baking process with salt, taking the contents of total flavornoids and polysaccharides and the percentage of water and alcohol-soluble components as indexes. Methods: UV-spectrophotometry and uniform design were applied to determine the contents of total flavornoids and polysaccharides which were extracted from Cuscutae Semen. And the stir-baking process with salt was optimized by nonlinear regression and contour map. Results: The best preparation technology was satisfied with some conditions as follows: its adding salt 2%, immersing time 60 min, baking temperature 170°C, and baking time 60 min. Conclusion: The uniform design and regression analysis are notable and reasonable, which could precisely forecast the results.