Network Pharmacology and Bioinformatics Methods Reveal the Mechanism of Berberine in the Treatment of Ischaemic Stroke.

Aim: To elucidate the mechanism of action of berberine on ischaemic stroke based on network pharmacology, bioinformatics, and experimental verification. Methods: Berberine-related long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were screened from public databases. Differentially expressed lncRNAs in ischaemic stroke were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. GSE102541 was comprehensively analysed using GEO2R. The correlation between lncRNAs and ischaemic stroke was evaluated by the mammalian noncoding RNA-disease repository (MNDR) database. The component-target-disease network and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of berberine in the treatment of ischaemic stroke were constructed by using network pharmacology. We then performed gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. Finally, according to the molecular docking analysis and the binding probability between the lncRNA and key proteins, the effectiveness of the results was further verified by in vitro experiments. Results: After matching stroke-related lncRNAs with berberine-related lncRNAs, four genes were selected as potential targets of berberine in the treatment of ischaemic stroke. Subsequently, lncRNA H19 was identified as the potential crucial regulatory lncRNA of berberine. Here, 52 target proteins of berberine in the treatment of ischaemic stroke were identified through database mining. Through topological analysis, 20 key targets were identified which were enriched in inflammation, apoptosis, and immunity. Molecular docking results showed that MAPK8, JUN, and EGFR were central genes. Finally, in vitro experiments demonstrated that lncRNA H19, p-JNK1/JNK1, p-c-Jun/c-Jun, and EGFR expressions were significantly increased in hypoxia-treated SH-SY5Y cells and were restored by berberine treatment. Conclusion: The potential targets and biological effects of berberine in the treatment of ischaemic stroke were predicted in this study. The lncRNA H19/EGFR/JNK1/c-Jun signalling pathway may be a key mechanism of berberine-induced neuroprotection in ischaemic stroke.

Anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of baicalin in cerebrovascular and neurological disorders.

Inflammatory responses play an extraordinary role in the pathogenesis of cerebrovascular and neurological disorders. Baicalin is one of the important flavonoids, which is extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Recently, numerous in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that baicalin has salutary effects for anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory and has been demonstrated to exert beneficial therapeutic properties in cerebrovascular and neurological diseases. In this review, we aim to discuss that baicalin exerts anti-inflammatory effects through multiple pathways and targets, thus affecting the production of a variety of inflammatory cytokines and neuroprotective process of neurological diseases; furthermore, the related targets of the anti-inflammatory effects of baicalin were analyzed via using the tools of network pharmacology, to provide theoretical basis and innovative ideas for the future clinical application of baicalin.

Effects of Xuebijing Injection for Patients With Sepsis-induced Acute Kidney Injury After Wenchuan Earthquake.

Context • Earthquakes are devastating disasters that have claimed countless lives in the past, partially owing to the danger of direct and indirect injuries to vital organs. In the deadly earthquake that occurred in Sichuan Province of China on May 12, 2008, some victims suffered from severe damage to multiple organs and tissue and developed sepsis, a systematic inflammatory reaction resulting from infection and trauma. Xuebijing injection (CCXG) could beneficial for improvement of clinical symptoms in those patients, but no research has yet examined its potential. Objective • The study intended to investigate whether a combination of conventional treatment and CCXG was superior to conventional treatment alone, or the control group (CG), in the treatment of clinical symptoms in patients with sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Design • The study retrospectively analyzed the medical records of individuals who were injured in an earthquake that occurred in the Sichuan Province of China on May 12, 2008, and who developed AKI. Setting • The study took place in the hospital associated with Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Chengdu, Sichuan, China). Participants • Participants were 55 injured individuals who were treated at the hospital. The CG included 27 patients and the CCXG group included 28 patients. Intervention • Both the intervention group (CCXG group) and the CG received the conventional treatment. The CCXG group was also given intravenous drips containing 100 mL of CCXG. The CG was given 100 mL of a 10% normal saline injection in addition to conventional treatment. Both received the treatments within 30 to 40 min, 3 ×/d. Outcome Measures • Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatine phosphate kinase (CPK), serum creatinine (Cr), interleukin 1 (IL-1), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were measured before treatment and on days 5, 7, and 10 after treatment. Results • The levels of CPK, BUN, Cr, and IL-6 for both groups were significantly lower than at baseline on day 5, 7, and 10 after treatment (P < .05). The levels of the CCXG group were significantly lower than those of the CG group on days 5, 7, and 10 (P < .05). Conclusions • As a supplement, CCXG is an effective method of improving the clinical symptoms of sepsis-induced AKI.