Mechanism of Sijunzi Decoction in treatment of Alzheimer's disease based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, network pharmacology, and experimental verification / 中国中药杂志

The study identified the blood-entering components of Sijunzi Decoction after gavage administration in rats by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, and investigated the mechanism of Sijunzi Decoction in treating Alzheimer's disease by virtue of network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental verification. The blood-entering components of Sijunzi Decoction were identified based on the mass spectra and data from literature and databases. The potential targets of the above-mentioned blood-entering components in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease were searched against PharmMapper, OMIM, DisGeNET, GeneCards, and TTD. Next, STRING was employed to establish a protein-protein interaction(PPI) network. DAVID was used to perform the Gene Ontology(GO) annotation and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment. Cytoscape 3.9.0 was used to carry out visual analysis. AutoDock Vina and PyMOL were used for molecular docking of the blood-entering components with the potential targets. Finally, the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt) signaling pathway enriched by the KEGG analysis was selected for validation by animal experiments. The results showed that 17 blood-entering components were detected in the serum samples after administration. Among them, poricoic acid B, liquiritigenin, atractylenolide Ⅱ, atractylenolide Ⅲ, ginsenoside Rb_1, and glycyrrhizic acid were the key components of Sijunzi Decoction in treating Alzheimer's disease. HSP90AA1, PPARA, SRC, AR, and ESR1 were the main targets for Sijunzi Decoction to treat Alzheimer's disease. Molecular docking showed that the components bound well with the targets. Therefore, we hypothesized that the mechanism of Sijunzi Decoction in treating Alzheimer's disease may be associated with the PI3K/Akt, cancer treatment, and mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK) signaling pathways. The results of animal experiments showed that Sijunzi Decoction significantly attenuated the neuronal damage in the hippocampal dentate gyrus area, increased the neurons, and raised the ratios of p-Akt/Akt and p-PI3K/PI3K in the hippocampus of mice. In conclusion, Sijunzi Decoction may treat Alzheimer's disease by activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. The findings of this study provide a reference for further studies about the mechanism of action and clinical application of Sijunzi Decoction.

Relationship between the genetic polymorphisms in nucleotide excision repair genes of ERCC1, XPD, XPC and the arsenism caused by coal-burning / 中国地方病学杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship between genetic polymorphisms in excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC 1 ),xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD),xeroderma pigmentosum group C (XPC) and the risk of arsenism caused by coal-burning.Methods Two hundred and twenty-nine patients with arsenism in the endemic area of Jiaole village Xingren county Guizhou province were selected into experimental group.One hundred and ninety-eight inhabitants who had similar living habits but did no burning coal with high arsenic in Dagnoduo village were selected into control group.Two milliliters vein blood samples were taken and analyzed with polymerase chain reaction-restriction frgment length polymorphism technique (PCR-RFLP) to measure the gene polymorphisms of ERCC1 C8092A,XPD Lys751Gln,XPD Asp312Asn,XPD Arg156Arg,and XPC P(AT +/-).Relationship between genotype and the risk of arsenism was also analyzed.Results The frequency of ERCC1 8092CA/AA geno-type in case group [ CA:29.78％ (67/225),AA:10.67％ (24/225) ] was significantly higher than that of control group[CA:23.08％(45/195),AA:5.13％(10/195),x2 =8.116,P ＜ 0.05].The frequency difference of other gene polymorphisms between case and control group was not statistically significant,respectively (x2 =5.649,4.394,0.865,1.490,all P ＞ 0.05).There were 1.780(95％CI:1.174 - 2.698),1.681(95％CI:1.081 - 2.615),and 1.790(95％CI:1.014 - 3.158)-fold increase in risk of arsenism for individuals carrying ERCC1 8092CA + AA,XPD Lys751Gln + Gln751Gln,and XPD Asp312Asn + Asn312Asn genotypes compared respectively with individuals canying ERCC1 8092CC,XPD Lys751Lys,and XPD Asp312Asp(all P ＜ 0.05).The sufferers only with XPD Arg156Arg or XPC P(AT +/-) didn't have higher risk of arsenism(all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The results of this study suggest that the gene polymorphisms of ERCC1 C8092A,XPD Lys751Gln,and Asp312Asn are related to the arsenism caused by coal-burning.

Association between IgG antibody against the C-terminal region of the preS1 protein of hepatitis B virus and the early response to interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis B / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the relationship between IgG antibody against the C-terminal region of the preS1 protein of hepatitis B virus and the early response to interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis B.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>69 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (genotype B) infection were recruited in this study. 42 patients were treated with interferon-a-1b or a-2b, and 27 patients were treated with PEG interferon (a-2a). Peptide mimicking the C-terminal region of the preS1 protein (94-117aa) of genotype B HBV were synthesised, and the IgG antibody against this peptide was measured by ELISA, and the early response to IFN-alpha therapy was judged by the effect on the viral kinetics, transaminase and the status of HBeAg at 12th week after the treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>21 patients were positive for anti-preS1 antibody, and 48 patients were negative for anti-preS1 antibody. After 12 weeks of the treatment, the average decrease in viral levels was 3.37log10 copies/ml and 0.33log10 copies/ml in anti-PreS1 positive patients and anti-preS1 negative patients, respectively, the difference between the two groups was significant (Z = -3.658, P = 0.000); the average decrease in ALT levels was 92 U/L and 30.5 U/L in these two groups, respectively (Z = -2.132, P = 0.033). The rate of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) loss was 41.2% (7/17) and the rate of anti-HBe seroconversion was 5.9% (1/17) in anti-PreS1 positive group, however, the rate of hepatitis B e antigen loss was only 12.8% (5/39), and none of the patients in anti-PreS1 negative group showed anti-HBe seroconversion, the difference between the two groups was significant (Z = -5.110, P = 0.000). The rates of response were 71.4% (15/21) and 16.7% (8/48), respectively, in anti-PreS1 positive group and anti-PreS1 negative group. The rates of complete response were 23.8% (5/21) and 6.25% (3/48), respectively, in these two groups. The positive predictive value (PPV) of anti-C-terminal region of preS1 (94-117aa) antibody in predicting early response was 71.6% and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 83.3%. CONCLUCIONS: Detection of anti-C-terminal region of preS1 (94-117aa) antibody may help to improve the efficacy of INF-alpha therapy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB).</p>