Application prospects of single-cell transcriptome sequencing in traditional Chinese medicine research / 中国中药杂志

Single-cell transcriptome sequencing(scRNA-seq) can be used to analyze the expression characteristics of the transcriptome at the level of individual cell, and discover the heterogeneity of gene expression in individual cell that is "diluted" or averaged in study of group organization. The scRNA-seq, with the characteristics of standardization, high-throughput, and high integration, can greatly simplify the experimental operation and significantly reduce the consumption of reagents. At the same time, a variety of cells are screened and the gene expression patterns are analyzed at the single-cell level to provide a more efficient detection technique and more rich and accurate information for drug research. In the field of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), the scRNA-seq is still a new technology, but the individual and precision concepts embodied by scRNA-seq and the theory of TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment have reached the same effect between the micro and macro aspects. This study tried to broaden the thinking for the modernization of TCM by introducing the development of scRNA-seq technology and its application in modern drug research and discussing the application prospects of scRNA-seq in TCM research.

Molecular Mechanism Analysis of Jiangtang Xiaozhi Tablets in Treatment of NAFLD / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To explore the molecular mechanism of Jiangtang Xiaozhi tablets （JTXZT） in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD） by means of network pharmacology and molecular docking. Method:With the help of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）， TCMs Integrated Database （TCMID）， Encyclopedia of TCM （ETCM） and Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular Mechanism of TCM （BATMAN-TCM）， the chemical compositions of medicinal materials in JTXZT were obtained， the compound targets were predicted in SwissTargetPrediction database and STITCH database. The targets of NAFLD were searched by The Human Gene Database （GeneCards）， Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， Therapeutic Target Database （TTD） and DisGeNET， and intersection analysis was performed with the targets of the active ingredients to obtain the targets of JTXZT for treatment of NAFLD. Based on STRING 11.0 database， the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network of therapeutic targets was constructed， and the enrichment analysis of therapeutic targets was carried out by DAVID 6.8. Finally， the interaction characteristics of key components and core therapeutic targets of JTXZT for treatment of NAFLD were verified based on molecular docking. Result:The key components of JTXZT for treatment of NAFLD were quercetin， luteolin， kaempferol， berberine， isorhamnetin， betulinic acid， oleanolic acid， ursolic acid. formononetin and hexitol， and the core targets of JTXZT for treatment of NAFLD were mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 （MAPK1）， Jun proto-oncogene， activator protein-1 （AP-1） transcription factor subunit （JUN）， MAPK3， protein kinase B1 （AKT1 or Akt1）， tumor protein p53 （TP53）， E1A binding protein p300 （EP300）， Fos proto-oncogene， AP-1 transcription factor subunit （FOS）， tumor necrosis factor （TNF），amyloid beta precursor protein （APP） and cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily E member 1 （CYP2E1）. Biological function and pathway enrichment analysis showed that JTXZT mainly through xenobiotic metabolic process， oxidation-reduction process， cholesterol metabolic process and other biological processes， regulating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway， MAPK signaling pathway， NAFLD and insulin signaling pathway to play a role in the treatment of NAFLD. The results of molecular docking showed that the active components of JTXZT had a good affinity with the core targets of JTXZT for the treatment of NAFLD. Conclusion:JTXZT treats NAFLD through multiple active components， multiple key targets and multiple action pathways.