Hedan tablet ameliorated non-alcoholic steatohepatitis by moderating NF-κB and lipid metabolism-related pathways via regulating hepatic metabolites.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a severe form of fatty liver disease. If not treated, it can lead to liver damage, cirrhosis and even liver cancer. However, advances in treatment have remained relatively slow, and there is thus an urgent need to develop appropriate treatments. Hedan tablet (HDP) is used to treat metabolic syndrome. However, scientific understanding of the therapeutic effect of HDP on NASH remains limited. We used HDP to treat a methionine/choline-deficient diet-induced model of NASH in rats to elucidate the therapeutic effects of HDP on liver injury. In addition, we used untargeted metabolomics to investigate the effects of HDP on metabolites in liver of NASH rats, and further validated its effects on inflammation and lipid metabolism following screening for potential target pathways. HDP had considerable therapeutic, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects on NASH. HDP could also alter the hepatic metabolites changed by NASH. Moreover, HDP considerable moderated NF-κB and lipid metabolism-related pathways. The present study found that HDP had remarkable therapeutic effects in NASH rats. The therapeutic efficacy of HDP in NASH mainly associated with regulation of NF-κB and lipid metabolism-related pathways via arachidonic acid metabolism, glycine-serine-threonine metabolism, as well as steroid hormone biosynthesis.

[Differential proteins in the prostate fluid with abnormal lecithin bodies and immunologic mechanism of chronic prostatitis patients].

OBJECTIVE: To study the protein changes in the prostate fluid with abnormal lecithin bodies, and explore their relationship with the pathogenesis of chronic prostatitis. METHODS: Using the tandem mass tag (TMT) technology, we identified differential proteins in the prostate fluid with abnormal lecithin bodies in normal males and analyzed their biological functions by GO functional annotation and KEGG pathways. RESULTS: Totally, 377 differential proteins were identified, 238 up-regulated and the other 139 down-regulated, and 8 of the top 20 significant differential proteins were related to inflammation and immune regulation. In the top 30 of the 1 011 items enriched by GO annotation, 5 were related to immune function and 3 to inflammatory response, and of the 251 KEGG pathways, 9 were involved in inflammation and immune regulation. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in lecithin bodies lead to proteomic changes in the prostatic fluid, which is closely related to protein- and pathway-associated inflammatory response and immune disorders, as well as to the immunologic mechanism of chronic prostatitis patients, and therefore can be used as an indicator of chronic prostatitis.