[Mechanism of astragaloside â £ combined with Panax notoginseng saponins in regulating angiogenesis to treat cerebral ischemia based on network pharmacology and experimental verification].

Network pharmacology and animal and cell experiments were employed to explore the mechanism of astragaloside Ⅳ(AST Ⅳ) combined with Panax notoginseng saponins(PNS) in regulating angiogenesis to treat cerebral ischemia. The method of network pharmacology was used to predict the possible mechanisms of AST Ⅳ and PNS in treating cerebral ischemia by mediating angiogenesis. In vivo experiment: SD rats were randomized into sham, model, and AST Ⅳ(10 mg·kg~(-1)) + PNS(25 mg·kg~(-1)) groups, and the model of cerebral ischemia was established with middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) method. AST Ⅳ and PNS were administered by gavage twice a day. the Longa method was employed to measure the neurological deficits. The brain tissue was stained with hematoxylin-eosin(HE) to reveal the pathological damage. Immunohistochemical assay was employed to measure the expression of von Willebrand factor(vWF), and immunofluorescence assay to measure the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA). Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2(VEGFR2), VEGFA, phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(p-PI3K), and phosphorylated protein kinase B(p-AKT) in the brain tissue. In vitro experiment: the primary generation of rat brain microvascular endothelial cells(rBEMCs) was cultured and identified. The third-generation rBMECs were assigned into control, model, AST Ⅳ(50 µmol·L~(-1)) + PNS(30 µmol·L~(-1)), LY294002(PI3K/AKT signaling pathway inhibitor), 740Y-P(PI3K/AKT signaling pathway agonist), AST Ⅳ + PNS + LY294002, and AST Ⅳ + PNS + 740Y-P groups. Oxygen glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation(OGD/R) was employed to establish the cell model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. The cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) and scratch assay were employed to examine the survival and migration of rBEMCs, respectively. Matrigel was used to evaluate the tube formation from rBEMCs. The Transwell assay was employed to examine endothelial cell permeability. Western blot was employed to determine the expression of VEGFR2, VEGFA, p-PI3K, and p-AKT in rBEMCs. The results of network pharmacology analysis showed that AST Ⅳ and PNS regulated 21 targets including VEGFA and AKT1 of angiogenesis in cerebral infarction. Most of these 21 targets were involved in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. The in vivo experiments showed that compared with the model group, AST Ⅳ + PNS reduced the neurological deficit score(P<0.05) and the cell damage rate in the brain tissue(P<0.05), promoted the expression of vWF and VEGFA(P<0.01) and angiogenesis, and up-regulated the expression of proteins in the PI3K/AKT pathway(P<0.05, P<0.01). The in vitro experiments showed that compared with the model group, the AST Ⅳ + PNS, 740Y-P, AST Ⅳ + PNS + LY294002, and AST Ⅳ + PNS + 740Y-P improved the survival of rBEMCs after OGD/R, enhanced the migration of rBEMCs, increased the tubes formed by rBEMCs, up-regulated the expression of proteins in the PI3K/AKT pathway, and reduced endothelial cell permeability(P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the LY294002 group, the AST Ⅳ + PNS + LY294002 group showed increased survival rate, migration rate, and number of tubes, up-regulated expression of proteins in the PI3K/AKT pathway, and decreased endothelial cell permeability(P<0.05,P<0.01). Compared with the AST Ⅳ + PNS and 740Y-P groups, the AST Ⅳ + PNS + 740Y-P group presented increased survival rate, migration rate, and number of tubes and up-regulated expression of proteins in the PI3K/AKT pathway, and reduced endothelial cell permeability(P<0.01). This study indicates that AST Ⅳ and PNS can promote angiogenesis after cerebral ischemia by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Monomers in Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy by Regulating PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Diabetes retinopathy （DR） is an important cause that threatens the visual health of adults. There are some treatment methods of western medicine with definite efficacy， such as anti-vascular endothelial growth factor and laser photocoagulation， but they have many adverse reactions such as intraocular infection and visual field damage. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） therapies are safe and effective， which can complement western medicine. Phosphatidylinositol3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathway regulates a range of processes including glucose metabolism， cell proliferation， and cell transcription and apoptosis， which is closely related to the occurrence and development of DR. Numerous studies have shown that TCM monomers can participate in maintaining the integrity of blood-retinal barrier and inhibiting retinal neovascularization and neurodegeneration in many aspects such as inhibiting oxidative stress and alleviating inflammatory reaction by regulating the PI3K/Akt pathway， so as to delay the progress of DR. Therefore， this study reviewed PI3K/Akt pathway and its relationship with DR， as well as the TCM monomers in interfering with DR based on PI3K/Akt pathway to provide some ideas for the prevention and treatment of DR in integrated TCM and western medicine.

Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma Powder Treats Dyslipidemia via PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma powder in treating dyslipidemia by regulating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathway. MethodSixty patients with dyslipidemia （syndrome of combined phlegm and stasis） treated in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine from May 2021 to June 2022 were selected in this study and randomized into two groups according to the randomized， double-blind control principle. The control group was treated with Xuezhikang capsules + Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma powder placebo and the observation group with Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma powder + Xuezhikang capsules placebo for 6 weeks. The clinical efficacy， traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） syndrome scores， and liver and kidney function indicators were evaluated at weeks 0， 3， and 6. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was employed to determine the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）， kinase insert domain receptor （KDR）， epidermal growth factor （EGF）， and epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR） in the peripheral serum. Quantitative Real-time PCR was employed to measure the mRNA levels of KDR， EGFR， PI3K， and Akt in the mononuclear cells of the peripheral blood. ResultThe observation group （83.33%） showed the total effective rate comparable to that of the control group （89.66%） and no adverse reactions. Compared with before treatment， the patients in the observation group showed decreased TCM syndrome score and serum levels total cholesterol （TC）， triglyceride （TG）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） and after being treated for 3 and 6 weeks （P<0.05）， the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） showed an upward trend, but the difference was not statistically significant. After treatment， the two groups showed no significant differences. Compared with that before treatment, the mRNA expression of PI3K, Akt and EGFR in peripheral blood mononuclear cell and the expression of EGF, VEGF and KDR in serum of the observation group showed a downward trend with time, in which the mRNA expression of PI3K, Akt, VEGF and KDR decreased more significantly (P<0.05)，The expression levels of KDR mRNA and serum EGFR show a trend of first increasing and then decreasing.Compared with the control group after treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in mRNA expression of PI3K, Akt, EGFR, and KDR, as well as serum levels of EGF, EGFR, VEGF, and KDR between the two groups of patients at the same time point. ConclusionNotoginseng Radix et Rhizoma powder is safe and effective in correcting dyslipidemia. It may inhibit the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway by down-regulating the expression of VEGF/KDR to lower the blood lipid level.

Monomer Components of Chinese Herbal Medicines Regulate PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway to Inhibit Bladder Cancer： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Bladder cancer is the most prevalent malignant tumor in the urinary tract in China. Western medical treatments， including long-term regular endoscopy， intravesical chemotherapy， immunotherapy， and radical cystectomy， are effective， whereas the high recurrence rate still plagues both doctors and patients. Among the classical signaling pathways involved in the formation and progression of bladder cancer， the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathway is a key one. Modern pharmacological studies have demonstrated that Chinese herbal medicines and their monomer components can alleviate the discomfort， prolong the survival， and improve the quality of life of the patients undergoing tumor treatment. The relevant literature in the past decade has revealed that flavonoids， terpenoids， polysaccharides， gambogic acids， bibenzyls， and alkaloids from Chinese herbal medicines regulate the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to play a role in the proliferation， apoptosis， invasion， migration， drug resistance， and autophagy of bladder cancer cells， thereby exerting the activity against bladder cancer. Although some targets and the potential mechanisms of the monomer components in the treatment of bladder cancer have been clarified， the research on the monomer components is limited to in vitro cellular experiments and animal experiments. Researchers face the great challenge in the application of the monomer components from Chinese herbal medicines into clinical practice. We summarized the recent studies about the regulatory effects of monomer components from Chinese herbal medicines on the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in bladder cancer， aiming to give insights into the research on the drug therapy of bladder cancer and the underlying mechanism.

Monomer Components of Chinese Herbal Medicines Regulate PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway to Inhibit Bladder Cancer： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Bladder cancer is the most prevalent malignant tumor in the urinary tract in China. Western medical treatments， including long-term regular endoscopy， intravesical chemotherapy， immunotherapy， and radical cystectomy， are effective， whereas the high recurrence rate still plagues both doctors and patients. Among the classical signaling pathways involved in the formation and progression of bladder cancer， the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathway is a key one. Modern pharmacological studies have demonstrated that Chinese herbal medicines and their monomer components can alleviate the discomfort， prolong the survival， and improve the quality of life of the patients undergoing tumor treatment. The relevant literature in the past decade has revealed that flavonoids， terpenoids， polysaccharides， gambogic acids， bibenzyls， and alkaloids from Chinese herbal medicines regulate the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to play a role in the proliferation， apoptosis， invasion， migration， drug resistance， and autophagy of bladder cancer cells， thereby exerting the activity against bladder cancer. Although some targets and the potential mechanisms of the monomer components in the treatment of bladder cancer have been clarified， the research on the monomer components is limited to in vitro cellular experiments and animal experiments. Researchers face the great challenge in the application of the monomer components from Chinese herbal medicines into clinical practice. We summarized the recent studies about the regulatory effects of monomer components from Chinese herbal medicines on the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in bladder cancer， aiming to give insights into the research on the drug therapy of bladder cancer and the underlying mechanism.

Mechanism of Dendrobium huoshanense in Treatment of Gastric Ulcer： Based on Network Pharmacology and in Vivo Experiment / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of Dendrobium huoshanense in the treatment of gastric ulcer （GU） based on network pharmacology and in vivo experiment. MethodThe active components of D. huoshanense were searched from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP） and literature， and the targets of the components were screened from TCMSP and SwissTargetPrediction. GU-related genes were retrieved from GeneCards， Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， and DisGeNET. Thereby， the common targets of the disease and the medicinal were yielded and the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed， followed by Gene Ontology （GO） term enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment. According to the predicted results， hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， immunohistochemistry， enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， Western blot， and real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） were used to validate the effects of D. huoshanense on acetic acid-induced GU in rats. ResultA total of 63 active components of D. huoshanense and 37 target genes of D. huoshanense for the treatment of GU were screened out. PPI network analysis yielded several possible core anti-GU targets of D. huoshanense. They influenced the development of GU by acting on signaling pathways such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）， hypoxia inducible factor-1 （HIF-1）， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）， and nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， and various biological processes. The in vivo experiment showed that D. huoshanense significantly reduced the levels of inflammatory factors such as interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and TNF-α in the serum of model rats （P<0.05， P<0.01）， increased gastric blood flow （GBF） at the ulcer margin， raised the expression of epidermal growth factor （EGF） and epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR） at the ulcer margin （P<0.01）， significantly down-regulated protein and mRNA expression of PI3K and Akt， and up-regulated protein and mRNA expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten （PTEN） in the gastric tissues of GU rats （P<0.01）. ConclusionThrough regulating EGFR/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway， D. huoshanense can inhibit tissue inflammation， increase gastric microcirculatory blood flow at the ulcer margin， and promote cell proliferation and repair of damaged gastric mucosa.

Study Progress of Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Monomer in Intervening Ovarian Cancer by Regulating PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Ovarian cancer is a kind of malignant tumor in female reproductive system with a high incidence. This disease is insidious at its early stage and the symptoms are not typical. Most of the patients have reached advanced stage by the time of diagnosis， seriously threating women's life and health. Many signaling pathways are involved in the formation and development of ovarian cancer， among which the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase（PI3K）/protein kinase B（Akt） signaling pathway is one of the key regulatory pathways. In recent years， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has obtained wide attention in treatment of tumors due to its advantages of high safety and less adverse reactions， and more and more attention has been paid to the study of TCM monomers. Molecular biology studies have shown that TCM monomers can play a role against tumor by regulating multiple targets. By reviewing the literature and searching several databases， we found that TCM monomer can play an important role in the growth， proliferation， invasion and migration， apoptosis， autophagy and reversal of drug resistance of ovarian cancer cells by regulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. According to the existing studies， TCM monomers have a certain effect on ovarian cancer， but there are still many problems. Although the mechanisms of some TCM monomers have been clarified in the treatment of ovarian cancer， such TCM monomers are only limited to the tumor-bearing nude mice in vivo and experimental studies on in vitro cells， and further studies are needed in the future. In addition， in the future researches， ovarian cancer syndrome differentiation and targeted therapy can be linked to the TCM flavors， efficacy and indications to further develop the advantages of TCM. Based on the current research situation at home and abroad， this paper summarized the research progress of targeted intervention of TCM monomers in ovarian cancer by regulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway， in order to provide reference for further research of TCM monomers， and provide important ideas for the development of targeted treatment of ovarian cancer with TCM.

Effect of PI3K/Akt Signal Pathway Crosstalk in Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury and Prevention and Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapy / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury （MIRI） was originated from the ischemic injury to myocardial cells due to some factors， and the injury will be aggravated after the blood supply recovery. MIRI will cause reperfusion arrhythmia， myocardial stagnation， microcirculation disorders or blood loss reflow， and become a key issue to be solved in the clinical treatment. Therefore， it is of important clinical significance to explore how to improve MIRI. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathway has been regarded to be an important cascade signaling pathway to prevent MIRI， which is cross-talked in such mechanisms as oxidative stress， calcium overload， autophagy， inflammation， endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. This pathway is at the core site and closely related to the severity of MIRI. Meanwhile， traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） has its unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of MIRI， including multiple targets， multiple pathways， fewer toxic and side effect， as well as TCM characteristics of syndrome differentiation treatment and overall concept. A great number of studies have confirmed that this pathway is a common mechanism of action for most TCM compounds， TCM monomers and extracts. In this paper， we clarify the effect of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway crosstalk on the myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury， with the focus on the relationship between the key targets of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and MIRI. It will give great insights to the intricate relationship between them and promote the future development of new drugs targeting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Finally， we also summarized the existing findings of TCM on PI3K/Akt pathway， which provides a reference for the treatment and drug development of MIRI.