ABSTRACT
This present study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of Erzhi Wan(a prescription of nourishing Yin and toni-fying liver and kidney) in treatment of aging by network pharmacology. The active constituents and target proteins of Erzhi Wan were searched from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database(TCMSP) and PubChem databases respectively. Aging-related genes were searched from Gene and HAGR databases. Based on the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis(IPA), we analyzed the common molecular network, biological pathway and interaction sites between these two parts, and verified some of them by Western blot. Twelve active constituents of Erzhi Wan were screened by TCMSP databases, 69 protein targets were predicted through PubChem, and 148 aging-related genes were found in Gene and HAGR databases. IPA comparison showed that the molecular networks of these two were complex, with diversity of biological functions. The common pathways involved 292 pathways, mainly related to tumors. They acted on hypoxia inducible factor-1α gene(HIF1α), nuclear factor-E2 related factor(Nrf2/NFE2 L2), tumor necrosis factor(TNF) and other sites. Western blot results suggested that Erzhi Wan could down-regulate the expression of HIF1α, with statistical difference(P<0.05). It was concluded that, Erzhi Wan could intervene aging through improving pseudo-hypoxic microenvironment and inflammation. The molecular mechanism of Erzhi Wan in delaying aging was preliminarily revealed, which laid a foundation for further stu-dying the anti-aging mechanism of Erzhi Wan, and also provided a reference for the compatibility mechanism and extended application of Chinese medicine compounds.
Subject(s)
Humans , Aging , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Neoplasms , Proteins , Tumor MicroenvironmentABSTRACT
Objective • To explore the differences in morphology, molecular characteristics and biological functions of different types of mouse fetal liver stromal cells. Methods • E13.5 mouse fetal liver stromal cells were obtained by adherent culture, and different cell types were distinguished by morphology and expression of surface markers, such as CD44, CD29, CD106, CD45 and Sca-1. Then microarray assay was conducted by Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array and analyzed at P3 or <-2 to identify differential expression genes. Canonical pathway and biological function analyses were performed by using ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA software). Results • Spindle-like (CD45+CD106-CD29+CD44+Sca-1-) and fibroblast-like (CD45-CD106+CD29+CD44+Sca-1-) fetal liver stromal cells were isolated in this study according to the cell morphology. The 1 485 highly-expressed genes in spindle-like cells mainly involved in immune and inflammation-related signaling pathways; while the 3 374 highly-expressed genes in fibroblast-like cells mainly involved in extracellular matrix formation and cellular adhesion. Conclusion • Mouse fetal liver stromal cells have strong heterogeneity in biological characteristics and functions, especially in hematopoietic promoting capability.