ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo explore the effects of Bushen Jianpi prescription on the autophagy and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin （PI3K/Akt/mTOR） signaling pathway in the patients with aplastic anemia （AA）. MethodA total of 30 AA patients admitted to Xiyuan Hospital and 6 healthy donors who were prepared to undergo peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in 304 Hospital from September 2020 to August 2021 were enrolled and assigned into an AA group and a control group. The AA group was treated with Bushen Jianpi prescription combined with cyclosporin A （CsA） and androgen for 3 months. The mononuclear cells from bone marrow in the AA group before and after treatment and the peripheral blood of the control group were collected. Transmission electron microscopy was then employed to detect autophagosomes. Western blotting was employed to determine the protein levels of microtuble-associated protein 1 light chain 3 （LC3）Ⅰ， LC3Ⅱ， mTOR， phosphorylated （p）-mTOR， Akt， p-Akt， PI3K， and p-PI3K， and real-time polymerase chain reaction （PCR） to determine the mRNA levels of LC3， mTOR， Akt， and PI3K. ResultIn the AA group， the treatment was completed in 29 patients， and the total response rate was 51.72% （15/29）. ① The AA group showed lower levels of white blood cell （WBC）， hemoglobin （HGB）， platelet （PLT）， and absolute neutrophil count （ANC） in the peripheral blood （P<0.01） and lower number of intracellular autophagosomes than the control group before treatment. Moreover， the AA group showed lower mRNA level of LC3 （P<0.01） and protein levels of LC3Ⅰ and LC3Ⅱ （P<0.01） and higher mRNA levels of mTOR， Akt， and PI3Kα （P<0.01） and protein levels of Akt， p-Akt， PI3K， p-PI3K， mTOR， and p-mTOR （P<0.01） than the control group. ② In AA group， the levels of HGB and PLT elevated （P<0.05） and the number of intracellular autophagosomes increased after treatment compared with those before treatment. Moreover， the mRNA level of LC3 and the protein levels of LC3Ⅰ and LC3Ⅱ were up-regulated （P<0.01）， the mRNA levels of mTOR， Akt， and PI3Kα （P<0.01） and the protein levels of Akt， p-PI3K （P<0.01）， p-Akt， PI3K， mTOR， p-mTOR （P<0.05） were down-regulated after treatment. ConclusionAA patients show lower autophagy levels， while Bushen Jianpi prescription can effectively improve the autophagy level and down-regulated the expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in AA patients.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Zhuluan decoction on the ovarian reserve function of rats with cyclophosphamide-induced premature ovarian insufficiency， and explore the protective mechanism of Zhuluan decoction in the rat model of premature ovarian insufficiency based on the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin （PI3K/Akt/mTOR） signaling pathway. MethodSixty female SD rats were randomly divided into normal group （n=10） and model group （n=50）. The model group was given intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide （50 mg·kg-1 loading dose on the 1st day+8 mg·kg-1 low-dose maintenance on the 2nd–15th days）. After successfully modeling， the rats were randomly divided into model group， positive drug （progynova） group （0.1 mg·kg-1·d-1）， and low-， medium-， and high-dose Zhuluan decoction groups （14， 28， 56 g·kg-1·d-1 ）， with 10 rats in each group. The model group and the normal group were given equal volume of distilled water by gavage， once a day， continuous administration for 21 d. The estrous cycle and body weight of rats in each group were detected， and the ovarian organ index and uterine organ index were calculated. The ovarian tissue pathology and ovarian follicle counts at all levels were determined by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. The content of the serum antimullerian hormone （AMH）， follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， luteinizing hormone （LH）， and inhibin-B （INH-B） of rats was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and the protein expression levels of PI3K， Akt， mTOR in the rat ovarian tissue were determined by Western blot. The microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B （LC3B） protein expression in the rat ovarian tissue was determined by immunohistochemistry. ResultAs compared with the blank group， the estrous cycle of rats in the model group was disordered， the body weight， ovarian organ index， and uterine organ index decreased， the number of primordial follicles decreased， and the number of secondary follicles and atretic follicles increased. In the model group， FSH increased （P<0.01）， LH increased （P<0.05）， AMH level decreased （P<0.05）， the protein expression levels of PI3K， Akt， and mTOR in the ovarian tissue decreased （P<0.01）， and the protein expression level of LC3B increased significantly （P<0.01）. As compared with the model group， the above indexes were improved in the progynova group and different doses of Zhuluan decoction groups， the content of AMH increased （P<0.05）， and FSH decreased （P<0.05）. In the progynova group and different doses of Zhuluan decoction groups， the protein expression level of LC3B decreased obviously （P<0.01）， and the protein expression levels of PI3K， Akt， and mTOR all showed an increasing trend. Moreover， there was a statistically significant difference in the progynova group and low- and medium-dose Zhuluan decoction groups （P<0.05）. ConclusionZhuluan decoction may inhibit the occurrence of excessive autophagy in ovarian granulosa cells by activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway， thereby reversing the effect of modeling on ovarian reserve in rats.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo investigate the protective effect of Zuoguiwan against 60Co-γ ray-induced premature aging of rats based on the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin （PI3K/Akt/mTOR） signaling pathway. MethodSixty sexually mature female SD rats were irradiated with 60Co-γ rays （6.0 Gy， LD40） for 24 h at one time. Then they were randomized into model group， Bujiale group （0.18 g·kg-1·d-1）， Bujiale （0.09 g·kg-1·d-1） + high-dose Zuoguiwan group （23.625 g·kg-1·d-1）， high-dose Zuoguiwan group （23.625 g·kg-1·d-1）， medium-dose Zuoguiwan group （9.45 g·kg-1·d-1）， and low-dose Zuoguiwan group （4.725 g·kg-1·d-1）. The administration （once a day） lasted 21 days. Serum indexes ［follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， luteinizing hormone （LH）， and estradiol （E2）］ of rats were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and morphological changes of ovarian tissues were observed based on hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining. The apoptosis rate of granulosa cells was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling （TUNEL） and the protein expression of phosphorylated （p）-PI3K， p-Akt， p-mTOR， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， and Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax） in ovarian tissues by Western blot. ResultCompared with normal group， model group demonstrated increase in serum FSH （P<0.01）， decrease in E2 （P<0.05）， and reduction of follicles and luteum in early ovary （P<0.01）. Moreover， the elevation of apoptosis rate of granulosa cells （P<0.01）， down-regulation of p-PI3K， p-Akt， p-mTOR， and Bcl-2 in ovarian tissue， and increase in expression of Bax were also observed in the model group as compared with the normal group （P<0.01）. In comparison with the model group， the administration groups showed rise of the number of early ovarian follicles， decrease in the apoptosis rate of granulosa cells， increase in the expression of p-PI3K， p-Akt， p-mTOR， and Bcl-2， and down-regulation of Bax， particularly the Bujiale + high-dose Zuoguiwan group（P<0.05，P<0.01）. ConclusionZuoguiwan protects radiation-damaged ovary by activating the expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR protein in ovarian tissue， increasing Bcl-2， and inhibiting the expression of Bax.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo investigate the protective effect of Zuoguiwan against 60Co-γ ray-induced premature aging of rats based on the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin （PI3K/Akt/mTOR） signaling pathway. MethodSixty sexually mature female SD rats were irradiated with 60Co-γ rays （6.0 Gy， LD40） for 24 h at one time. Then they were randomized into model group， Bujiale group （0.18 g·kg-1·d-1）， Bujiale （0.09 g·kg-1·d-1） + high-dose Zuoguiwan group （23.625 g·kg-1·d-1）， high-dose Zuoguiwan group （23.625 g·kg-1·d-1）， medium-dose Zuoguiwan group （9.45 g·kg-1·d-1）， and low-dose Zuoguiwan group （4.725 g·kg-1·d-1）. The administration （once a day） lasted 21 days. Serum indexes ［follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， luteinizing hormone （LH）， and estradiol （E2）］ of rats were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and morphological changes of ovarian tissues were observed based on hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining. The apoptosis rate of granulosa cells was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling （TUNEL） and the protein expression of phosphorylated （p）-PI3K， p-Akt， p-mTOR， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， and Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax） in ovarian tissues by Western blot. ResultCompared with normal group， model group demonstrated increase in serum FSH （P<0.01）， decrease in E2 （P<0.05）， and reduction of follicles and luteum in early ovary （P<0.01）. Moreover， the elevation of apoptosis rate of granulosa cells （P<0.01）， down-regulation of p-PI3K， p-Akt， p-mTOR， and Bcl-2 in ovarian tissue， and increase in expression of Bax were also observed in the model group as compared with the normal group （P<0.01）. In comparison with the model group， the administration groups showed rise of the number of early ovarian follicles， decrease in the apoptosis rate of granulosa cells， increase in the expression of p-PI3K， p-Akt， p-mTOR， and Bcl-2， and down-regulation of Bax， particularly the Bujiale + high-dose Zuoguiwan group（P<0.05，P<0.01）. ConclusionZuoguiwan protects radiation-damaged ovary by activating the expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR protein in ovarian tissue， increasing Bcl-2， and inhibiting the expression of Bax.