Transcriptome profiling of transcription factors in Ganoderma lucidum in response to methyl jasmonate.

Ganoderma lucidum is a traditional Chinese medicine and its major active ingredients are ganoderma triterpenoids (GTs). To screen for transcription factors (TFs) that involved in the biosynthetic pathway of GTs in G. lucidum, the chemical composition in mycelia, primordium and fruiting body were analyzed, and the transcriptomes of mycelia induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA) were analyzed. In addition, the expression level data of MeJA-responsive TFs in mycelia, primordia and fruiting body were downloaded from the database, and the correlation analysis was carried out between their expression profiles and the content of total triterpenoids. The results showed that a total of 89 components were identified, and the content of total triterpenoids was the highest in primordium, followed by fruiting body and mycelia. There were 103 differentially expressed TFs that response to MeJA-induction including 95 upregulated and 8 downregulated genes. These TFs were classified into 22 families including C2H2 (15), TFII-related (12), HTH (9), fungal (8), bZIP (6), HMG (5), DADS (2), etc. Correlation analysis showed that the expression level of GL23559 (MADS), GL26472 (HTH), and GL31187 (HMG) showed a positive correlation with the GTs content, respectively. While the expression level of GL25628 (fungal) and GL26980 (PHD) showed a negative correlation with the GTs content, respectively. Furthermore, the over expression of the Glmhr1 gene (GL25628) in Pichia pastoris GS115 indicated that it might be a negative regulator of GT biosynthesis through decreasing the production of lanosterol. This study provided useful information for a better understanding of the regulation of TFs involved in GT biosynthesis and fungal growth in G. lucidum.

Study on the mechanism of Gegen Qinlian Decoction for treating type II diabetes mellitus by integrating network pharmacology and pharmacological evaluation.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Gegen Qinlian Decoction (GQD) is a classic traditional Chinese medicine prescription that is widely used to clinically treat diabetes mellitus. It is composed of Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi (ge gen), Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (huang qin), Coptidis chinensis Franch. (huang lian), and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. (gan cao). However, the active ingredients in GQD and their mechanism of action are unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: In this study, we aimed to verify the efficacy of GQD in improving insulin resistance (IR) in diabetic mice and used network pharmacology to identify potential targets and pathways underlying its mechanism of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A mouse model of diabetes was created by feeding mice a high-fat diet followed by an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. These type II diabetic mice were administered either a clinical dose or a high dose of GQD, after which blood glucose and serum insulin levels were measured to assess its effects on IR. Network pharmacology was used to construct a 'component-pathway-target' network to elucidate the likely targets and pathways modulated in common by GQD components. Furthermore, mRNA transcript levels and protein expression levels of oestrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) were determined. RESULTS: The in vivo experiment showed that GQD markedly decreased blood glucose and increased serum insulin levels in type II diabetic mice. Network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis indicated that GQD regulated 82 corresponding proteins and 59 relevant biological pathways associated with diabetes. One such target was ESR1, which was significantly decreased at both the mRNA and protein levels in diabetic mice, but whose levels were significantly increased by GQD treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This project provides a scientific basis for understanding the effectiveness of multi-component, multi-target compound formulas, as well as a new strategy for investigating therapeutic drugs for type II diabetes and other diseases.

Characterization of the Metabolic Fate of Datura metel Seed Extract and Its Main Constituents in Rats.

Datura metel L. has been frequently used in Chinese traditional medicine. However, little is known on the chemical composition and in vivo metabolism of its seeds. In this study, using the strategy "chemical analysis, metabolism of single representative compounds, and metabolism of extract at clinical dosage" that we propose here, 42 constituents were characterized from D. metel seeds water extract. Furthermore, the metabolic pathways of 13 representative bioactive compounds of D. metel seeds were studied in rats after the oral administration of D. metel seeds water extract at a clinical dosage (0.15 g/kg). These included three withanolides, two withanolide glucosides, four amides, one indole, one triterpenoid, one steroid, and one sesquiterpenoid, and with regard to phase II metabolism, hydroxylation, (de)methylation, and dehydrogenation reactions were dominant. Furthermore, the metabolism of D. metel seeds water extract provided to rats at a clinical dosage was investigated by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry based on the above metabolic pathways. Sixty-one compounds were detected in plasma, 83 in urine, and 76 in fecal samples. Among them, withanolides exhibited higher plasma exposure than the other types. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic study on the chemical profiling and metabolite identification of D. metel seeds, including all compounds instead of single constituents.

Biological activities and nitrogen and phosphorus removal during the anabaena flos-aquae biofilm growth using different nutrient form.

This work investigated the biological activities and nitrogen and phosphorus removal during the anabaena flos-aquae biofilm growth on the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) carriers, in different nutrient form mediums. The study showed that the production of dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) can reach 40.4 g/(h·m2) and 115 × 10-2 g/m2 in an 11-day period, respectively, indicating that the anabaena flos-aquae biofilm had high biological activities. The results showed that the nitrogen and phosphorus removal reached 94.9 and 96.8%, respectively, in the ammonium form nitrogen group; while 97.7% of phosphorus were removed in the orthophosphate form phosphorous group. A comparison study was conducted and results showed that the present anabaena flos-aquae based biofilm provided a better removal of nitrogen and phosphorus than the other microalgae biofilms.