Xiaoyaosan decoction alleviated rat liver fibrosis via the TGFß/Smad and Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathways based on network pharmacology analysis.
J Ethnopharmacol
; 264: 113021, 2021 Jan 10.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32479885
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Liver fibrosis is an outcome of many chronic liver diseases and often results in cirrhosis, liver failure, and even hepatocarcinoma. Xiaoyaosan decoction (XYS) as a classical Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formula is used to liver fibrosis in clinical practice while its mechanism is unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-fibrosis effect of XYS and to explore the molecular mechanisms by combining network pharmacology and transcriptomic technologies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis rat were treated with three doses of XYS. The liver fibrosis and function were evaluated by histopathological examination and serum biochemical detection. The fibrosis related protein a-SMA and collagen I were assessed by Western blot. Different expressed genes (DEGs) between XYS-treated group and model group were analyzed. The herb-component-target network was constructed combined the network pharmacology. The predict targets and pathways were validated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. RESULTS: With XYS treatment, the liver function was significantly improved, and fibrotic changes were alleviated. The a-SMA and collagen I expression levels in the liver were also decreased in XYS-treated rats compared with CCl4 model rats. 108 active components and 42 targets from 8 herbs constituted herb-compound-target network by transcriptomics and network pharmacology analysis. The KEGG pathway and GO enrichment analyses showed that the FoxO, TGFß, AMPK, MAPK, PPAR, and hepatitis B and C pathways were involved in the anti-fibrosis effects of XYS. In the liver tissues, p-FoxO3a and p-Akt expression levels were significantly increased in the CCl4 model group but decreased in the XYS-treated group. The TGFß1/Smad pathway and Akt/FoxO3 pathway were verified in LX2 cells by inhibiting phosphorylation of Smad3 and Akt activity, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that XYS markedly alleviated CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in histopathological and serum liver function analyses, and this effect may occur via the TGFß1/Smad and Akt/FoxO signaling pathways.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Medicinas Tradicionais:
Medicinas_tradicionales_de_asia
/
Medicina_china
Métodos Terapêuticos e Terapias MTCI:
Terapias_biologicas
Assunto principal:
Medicamentos de Ervas Chinesas
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Fator de Crescimento Transformador beta
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Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt
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Proteína Smad3
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Proteína Forkhead Box O3
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Cirrose Hepática
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Ethnopharmacol
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article