Mechanism of Berberis atrocarpa anthocyanin against Alzheimer's disease based on network pharmacology and experimental verification / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to explore the potential mechanism of Berberis atrocarpa Schneid. anthocyanin against Alzheimer's disease(AD) based on network pharmacology, molecular docking technology, and in vitro experiments. Databases were used to screen out the potential targets of the active components of B. atrocarpa and the targets related to AD. STRING database and Cytoscape 3.9.0 were adopted to construct a protein-protein interaction(PPI) network and carry out topological analysis of the common targets. Gene Ontology(GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed on the target using the DAVID 6.8 database. Molecular docking was conducted to the active components and targets related to the nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB)/Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) pathway. Finally, lipopolysaccharide(LPS) was used to induce BV2 cells to establish the model of AD neuroinflammation for in vitro experimental validation. In this study, 426 potential targets of active components of B. atrocarpa and 329 drug-disease common targets were obtained, and 14 key targets were screened out by PPI network. A total of 623 items and 112 items were obtained by GO functional enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, respectively. Molecular docking results showed that NF-κB, NF-κB inhibitor(IκB), TLR4, and myeloid differentiation primary response 88(MyD88) had good binding abilities to the active components, and malvidin-3-O-glucoside had the strongest binding ability. Compared with the model group, the concentration of nitric oxide(NO) decreased at different doses of malvidin-3-O-glucoside without affecting the cell survival rate. Meanwhile, malvidin-3-O-glucoside down-regulated the protein expressions of NF-κB, IκB, TLR4, and MyD88. This study uses network pharmacology and experimental verification to preliminarily reveal that B. atrocarpa anthocyanin can inhibit LPS-induced neuroinflammation by regulating the NF-κB/TLR4 signaling pathway, thereby achieving the effect against AD, which provides a theoretical basis for the study of its pharmacodynamic material basis and mechanism.

Advances in cardiovascular protection effects and mechanisms of allicin / 中国中药杂志

Cardiovascular diseases(CVD) with high morbidity and mortality pose severe threats to human life. Allicin, a main active ingredient of garlic, possesses multiple pharmaceutical activities. It not only exerts cardioprotective effects but also prevents the risk factors for CVD. Allicin exerts cardioprotective effects via a variety of mechanisms, including inhibiting oxidative stress, apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammatory responses, regulating lipid metabolism and gut microbiota, inducing hydrogen sulfide production, and dilating vessels. Despite the valuable cardioprotective effects, the instability of allicin has hindered the basic research and clinical application. This paper reviews the progress in the cardioprotective effects and mechanisms of allicin in the last decade and summarizes the methods to improve the stability of allicin. In addition, this review provides a reference for further research and development of allicin in cardiovascular protection.

Protective Mechanism of Lavender Against Skin Photodamage Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Verification / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo predict the active ingredients and mechanism of action of lavender in protecting skin photodamage based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology，and further verify possible signal pathways via animal experiments. MethodThe active ingredients and potential targets of lavender were obtained by SwissTargetPrediction，PharmMapper， and literature. Skin photodamage-related targets were searched from GeneCards，Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM），DrugBank and DisGeNET databases. After common targets of the two were screened out，STRING was adopted to analyze the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network，where topological analysis and core target screening were performed by CytoNCA plug-in of Cytoscape 3.8.2. Based on DAVID， gene ontology （GO） annotations and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis were carried out among the intersection targets， and the active ingredients of lavender and the signal pathway proteins were selected and verified via molecular docking with AutoDock vina 1.1.2. Finally， mouse photodamage model was established by UVB irradiating the bare skin of mouse back， and the skin condition was observed by naked eyes. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） and picric acid-acid fuchsin staining （Van Gieson， VG） were used to observe the pathological changes of mouse skin tissues. Western blot was employed to detect the protein expression in mouse skin tissues to further validate the key signal pathways. ResultIn this study，6 active ingredients of lavender，526 potential targets，2 688 disease-related targets，and 258 intersection targets were screened out， and 16 core targets were obtained by PPI network. Additionally， 113 related signal pathways were obtained by KEGG pathway analysis，among which phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） pathway and nuclear transcription factor-κB （NF-κB） signal pathway might play a key role in skin photodamage protection by lavender. Molecular docking showed that the active ingredients and the signal pathway proteins were well docked. Animal experiments indicated that the total flavonoids of lavender improved the appearance and histopathological condition of mouse skin， reduced the relative expression levels of phosphorylated（p）-PI3K，p-Akt，and B cell lymphoma 2 （Bcl-2） proteins （P<0.05，P<0.01）， and increased relative expression level of Bcl-2-associated X protein（Bax） （P<0.05）. ConclusionLavender exerts synergistic effect in resisting skin photodamage，with the characteristics of multi-components，multi-targets，and multi-pathways， which provides a basis for subsequent in-depth research on the complex mechanism of lavender against skin photodamage.

Mechanism of Arnebia euchroma Against Melanoma： An Exploration Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Verification / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo preliminarily predict the active components， action targets， and signaling pathways of Arnebia euchroma in the treatment of melanoma based on network pharmacology and molecular docking， and to verify its possible mechanism of action in in vitro experiments. MethodThe active components and related targets of A. euchroma were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）SwissTargetPrediction and literature， and the targets related to melanoma from the GeneCards， Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， and Comparative Toxicogenomics Database （CTD）. Following the construction of the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network of active components and related targets of A. euchroma and melanoma-related targets using STRING， Cytoscape 3.8.2 was used for screening and analyzing the nodes in the network of A. euchroma against melanoma. The intersections were subjected to gene ontology （GO） and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes （KEGG） enrichment analysis using DAVID 6.8. Acetyl alkannin， the active component in A. euchroma， was docked to the target by AutoDock Vina 1.1.2. The in vitro experiments were then carried out to verify the anti-melanoma effect of A. euchroma. ResultA total of 271 common targets of A. euchroma and melanoma were harvested， among which 23 were key targets， including matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9） and Janus kinase 2 （JAK2）. As revealed by KEGG enrichment analysis， A. euchroma mainly acted on Janus kinase/signal transduction and activator of transcription （JAK/STAT）， tyrosine kinase receptor （ErbB）， and vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） signaling pathways to resist melanoma. According to molecular docking， acetyl alkannin exhibited a good docking activity with JAK2， STAT3， VEGF， MMP-9， and E-cadherin receptors. The results of Western blot and Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） showed that acetyl alkannin at different doses inhibited the protein and gene expression of JAK2， STAT3， VEGF， MMP-9， and E-cadherin in A375 cells （P<0.05）. ConclusionA. euchroma alleviates melanoma via multiple targets and multiple pathways， and it may exert the therapeutic effects by affecting the expression of such key target proteins as JAK2， STAT3， VEGF， MMP-9， and E-cadherin and inhibiting the invasion and metastasis of melanoma cells. This study has provided an experimental basis for the treatment of tumor with A. euchroma.

Signal Pathways Relating to Prevention and Treatment of Airway Remodeling in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Traditional Chinese Medicine / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease with a high morbidity, disability and mortality. At the same time, COPD is always accompanied by pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, chronic pulmonary heart disease, right heart failure and other common serious complications. All of these cause serious financial burden for the family of patients. Airway remodeling plays an important role in the pathogenesis of COPD. It is the progressive development of airflow restriction that induces the main symptoms of COPD, such as cough, asthma and depression. Therefore, it is of great research value to explore the intervention of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) in the development of COPD by alleviating airway remodeling. Studies have shown that multiple signaling pathways can induce progressive airway remodeling, and the therapeutic effect of TCM has been frequently confirmed by experimental studies. TCM often has a therapeutic effect on COPD through multi-target and multi-channel mediation. This paper mainly includes five signaling pathways that traditional Chinese medicine can intervene COPD airway remodeling, namely matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)/tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMPs), transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1/Smads, RhoA/Rho-associated kinase (ROCK), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)/b-fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB. This paper briefly reviews the research progress of these five signaling pathways, and discusses other signaling pathways that may be involved, in order to provide reference and ideas for future experimental research.