Network pharmacology and RNA-sequencing reveal the molecular mechanism of Xuebijing injection on COVID-19-induced cardiac dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Up to 20%-30% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have evidence of cardiac dysfunction. Xuebijing injection is a compound injection containing five traditional Chinese medicine ingredients, which can protect cells from SARS-CoV-2-induced cell death and improve cardiac function. However, the specific protective mechanism of Xuebijing injection on COVID-19-induced cardiac dysfunction remains unclear. METHODS: The therapeutic effect of Xuebijing injection on COVID-19 was validated by the TCM Anti COVID-19 (TCMATCOV) platform. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data from GSE150392 was used to find differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) infected with SARS-CoV-2. Data from GSE151879 was used to verify the expression of Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) and central hub genes in both human embryonic-stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) and adult human CMs with SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS: A total of 97 proteins were identified as the therapeutic targets of Xuebijing injection for COVID-19. There were 22 DEGs in SARS-CoV-2 infected hiPSC-CMs overlapped with the 97 therapeutic targets, which might be the therapeutic targets of Xuebijing injection on COVID-19-induced cardiac dysfunction. Based on the bioinformatics analysis, 7 genes (CCL2, CXCL8, FOS, IFNB1, IL-1A, IL-1B, SERPINE1) were identified as central hub genes and enriched in pathways including cytokines, inflammation, cell senescence and oxidative stress. ACE2, the receptor of SARS-CoV-2, and the 7 central hub genes were differentially expressed in at least two kinds of SARS-CoV-2 infected CMs. Besides, FOS and quercetin exhibited the tightest binding by molecular docking analysis. CONCLUSION: Our study indicated the underlying protective effect of Xuebijing injection on COVID-19, especially on COVID19-induced cardiac dysfunction, which provided the theoretical basis for exploring the potential protective mechanism of Xuebijing injection on COVID19-induced cardiac dysfunction.

Role of BCYRN1 in hepatocellular carcinoma pathogenesis by lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network analysis and its diagnostic and prognostic value.

Aim: This study aimed to excavate the roles of BCYRN1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: A comprehensive strategy of microarray data mining, computational biology and experimental verification were adopted to assess the clinical significance of BCYRN1 and identify related pathways. Results:BCYRN1 was upregulated in HCC and its expression was positively associated with both tumor, node, metastasis and worse survival rate in patients with HCC. Through combing plasma BCYRN1 with alpha fetoprotein, the diagnosis of HCC was remarkably improved. BCYRN1 may regulate some cancer-related pathways to promote HCC initiation via an lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network. Conclusion: Our results propose BCYRN1 as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and offer a novel perspective to explore the etiopathogenesis of HCC.