Potential mechanism of Qinggong Shoutao pill alleviating age-associated memory decline based on integration strategy.

CONTEXT: Qinggong Shoutao Wan (QGSTW) is a pill used as a traditional medicine to treat age-associated memory decline (AAMI). However, its potential mechanisms are unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study elucidates the possible mechanisms of QGSTW in treating AAMI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Network pharmacology and molecular docking approaches were utilized to identify the potential pathway by which QGSTW alleviates AAMI. C57BL/6J mice were divided randomly into control, model, and QGSTW groups. A mouse model of AAMI was established by d-galactose, and the pathways that QGSTW acts on to ameliorate AAMI were determined by ELISA, immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting after treatment with d-gal (100 mg/kg) and QGSTW (20 mL/kg) for 12 weeks. RESULTS: Network pharmacology demonstrated that the targets of the active components were significantly enriched in the cAMP signaling pathway. AKT1, FOS, GRIN2B, and GRIN1 were the core target proteins. QGSTW treatment increased the discrimination index from -16.92 ± 7.06 to 23.88 ± 15.94% in the novel location test and from -19.54 ± 5.71 to 17.55 ± 6.73% in the novel object recognition test. ELISA showed that QGSTW could increase the levels of cAMP. Western blot analysis revealed that QGSTW could upregulate the expression of PKA, CREB, c-Fos, GluN1, GluA1, CaMKII-α, and SYN. Immunostaining revealed that the expression of SYN was decreased in the CA1 and DG. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: This study not only provides new insights into the mechanism of QGSTW in the treatment of AAMI but also provides important information and new research ideas for the discovery of traditional Chinese medicine compounds that can treat AAMI.

Effect and mechanism of Tangzhiqing in improving cardiac function in mice with hyperlipidaemia complicated with myocardial ischaemia.

Purpose: Tangzhiqing formula (TZQ) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescribed to treat lipid metabolism disorders, atherosclerosis, diabetes and diabetic cardiomyopathy. However, some challenges and hurdles remain. TZQ showed promising results in treating diabetes and hyperlipidaemia. However, its effect on and mechanism of action in hyperlipidaemia complicated with myocardial ischaemia (HL-MI) remain unknown. Methods: In this study, a network pharmacology-based strategy integrating target prediction was adopted to predict the targets of TZQ relevant to the treatment of HL-MI and to further explore the involved pharmacological mechanisms. Results: A total of 104 potential therapeutic targets were obtained, including MMP9, Bcl-2, and Bax, which may be related to the apoptosis and PI3K/AKT signalling pathways. Then, we confirmed these potential targets and pathways with animal experimentation. TZQ reduced lipid levels, increased the expression levels of Bcl-2, decreased Bax, caspase-3 and caspase-9 expression levels, and activated the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the protective mechanisms of TZQ against HL-MI through network pharmacology and pharmacological approaches.

Gut microbiota: A new target of traditional Chinese medicine for insomnia.

All species have a physiological need for sleep, and sleep is crucial for the preservation and restoration of many physiological processes in the body. Recent research on the effects of gut microbiota on brain function has produced essential data on the relationship between them. It has been discovered that dysregulation of the gut-brain axis is related to insomnia. Certain metabolites of gut microbiota have been linked to insomnia, and disturbances in gut microbiota can worsen insomnia. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has unique advantages for the treatment of insomnia. Taking the gut microbiota as the target and determining the scientific relevance of TCM to the prevention and treatment of insomnia may lead to new concepts for the treatment of sleep disorders and improve the therapeutic effect of sleep. Taking the gut microbiota as an entry point, this paper reviews the relationship between gut microbiota and TCM, the relationship between gut microbiota and insomnia, the mechanism by which gut microbiota regulate sleep, and the mechanism by which TCM regulates gut microbiota for insomnia prevention and treatment. This review provides new ideas for the prevention and treatment of insomnia through TCM and new ideas for drug development.

A potential therapeutic target in traditional Chinese medicine for ulcerative colitis: Macrophage polarization.

Intestinal macrophages are the main participants of intestinal immune homeostasis and intestinal inflammation. Under different environmental stimuli, intestinal macrophages can be polarized into classical activated pro-inflammatory phenotype (M1) and alternative activated anti-inflammatory phenotype (M2). Its different polarization state is the "guide" to promoting the development and regression of inflammation. Under normal circumstances, intestinal macrophages can protect the intestine from inflammatory damage. However, under the influence of some genetic and environmental factors, the polarization imbalance of intestinal M1/M2 macrophages will lead to the imbalance in the regulation of intestinal inflammation and transform the physiological inflammatory response into pathological intestinal injury. In UC patients, the disorder of intestinal inflammation is closely related to the imbalance of intestinal M1/M2 macrophage polarization. Therefore, restoring the balance of M1/M2 macrophage polarization may be a potentially valuable therapeutic strategy for UC. Evidence has shown that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has positive therapeutic effects on UC by restoring the balance of M1/M2 macrophage polarization. This review summarizes the clinical evidence of TCM for UC, the vital role of macrophage polarization in the pathophysiology of UC, and the potential mechanism of TCM regulating macrophage polarization in the treatment of UC. We hope this review may provide some new enlightenment for the clinical treatment, fundamental research, and research and development of new Chinese medicine of UC.

[Network Meta-analysis of effect of traditional Chinese medicine injections in adjuvant treatment of mycoplasma pneumonia in children].

To assess the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine injection for adjuvant treatment of mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children by network Meta-analysis method. We retrieved CNKI, WanFang, CBM, Cochrane Library, PubMed from the establishment to September 2018. Two reviewers independently screened out literatures, extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of included studies. The data were analyzed by Stata 13.0 software. Totally 89 RCTs were included, involving 8 kinds of traditional Chinese medical injections and 8 936 patients. According to the results of network Meta-analysis, the order by the total effective rate from high to low was Huangqi Injection>Xiyanping Injection>Tanreqing Injection>Compound Danshen Injection>Reduning Injection>Yanhuning Injection>Qingkailing Injection>Xixinnao Injection; the order by cooling time from high to low was Reduning Injection> Yanhuning Injection>Qingkailing Injection>Tanreqing Injection>Huangqi Injection>Xiyanping Injection>Xiexinnao Injection>Compound Danshen Injection; the order by the cough disappeared time from high to low was Compound Danshen Injection>Qingkailing Injection>Xiyanping Injection>Huangqi Injection>Yanhuning Injection>Reduning Injection>Tanreqing Injection>Xixinnao Injection; the order by the rales disappearing time from high to low was Qingkailing Injection>Yanhuning Injection>Reduning Injection>Huangqi Injection>Tanreqing Injection>Xiyanping Injection>Xixinnao Injection. The results show that traditional Chinese medicine injection has a significant clinical efficacy in the adjuvant treatment of various symptoms of mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children. Due to the small sample size, more studies are required to verify the strength of evidence.